Mistakes
by LaylaG12
Summary: Callie Denison is pregnant…with James Potter's baby no less. She's not taking it well, and she knows James isn't going to either. With a nosy family, slightly insane friends, a school that loves to gossip and the papers itching for the latest scoop on the Potter family…well, Callie has some problems, and her past and present mistakes seem to always be in her way of fixing them.
1. Big, big mistake

**I don't own anything.**

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**Mistakes**

Chapter 1

It was _one _time.

_ONE TIME_!

For the love of Merlin, all I wanted for my sixth year was a damn owl. Not even a good owl, just a none-stupid owl that actually sent my letters to the right people. Honestly, I didn't think that was too much to ask for. In fact, I thought it was quite sufficient.

What I didn't want? To get _pregnant_.

I was going to die.

Scratch that, be _murdered_.

Maybe I could run off the end of the Astronomy tower and make my death look like some freak accident. At least then I wouldn't be tortured with the cruciatus curse by my sister. In fact, I'm sure if I asked nice enough Bruce would Avada Kedavra me. Who am I kidding, he'd happily do it.

I looked down at the little white stick again as if the answer would have changed in the past minute I had been crying. Instead, I saw the incredibly happy smiley face grinning up at me as if it was a good thing I was sixteen and knocked up.

Damn.

_WHY AM I BEING SO BLASÉ RIGHT NOW?_

Feeling like I was about to faint, I threw the stick at the bathroom wall and sunk onto the toilet. I was never leaving the bathroom again. No matter how much my roommates wanted to have a pee. I could live on toothpaste and shampoo, and if I get tired of them I would always have dental floss. Plus, I could drink from the toilet. Though I don't think that would be good for the _baby_ _growing inside me_!

I started hyperventilating when I thought about an actually person growing inside me . . . and that I would have to push it out in seven months. Something bigger than a watermelon was going to be pushed from _. . . down there_. Labour had always freaked me out, especially after my Aunt Annie had a pretty nasty birth with Viola. Since that moment I had said I was never going to have children.

_Little bit late on that one, Callie._

How the bloody hell was I going to _give birth_? I could barley commit to going to the toilet.

I raked my fingers through the roots of my hair as I felt my heart pick up to supersonic speed and I took a deep breath before I went into cardiac arrest. I didn't think I would actually be . . . _pregnant_. I thought maybe Merlin was giving me a scare, making me go through intense mental torture for a month and then when I actually did something about my _problem_ it would turn out to be a stupid thought that I would laugh about in years to come. Obviously, I don't think in ten years time I will be laughing. I'll probably be a moody, homeless hag that shares a cardboard box with four strangers that talk to themselves and think they're in love with a dog.

Oh, and I'll have a child.

Bugger.

That was when I realized someone would actually be depending on me for their _life_. I was shit at taking care of things, it was actually the reason my dad wouldn't let me get my own owl. Once, when I was seven, dad gave me a pet fish. It died three days later from starvation. I'm pretty sure I'll be locked up if I did that to a human being, I couldn't just flush it down the toilet like I did with Bernard.

Oh, Merlin, what the hell is wrong with me? Is this what pregnancy brain is?

Feeling the sudden urge to shove my head down the toilet and never resurface, I wrapped my arms around my still flat stomach. Everyone was going to be affected by my _stupid, stupid _mistake.

James Sirius Potter was the obvious first victim. My dad was going to shoot him in the leg, hang him up on the Astronomy tower by his balls, and then decapitate him. Not to mention he would let my brother and uncles have a shot at James, too. Then they would throw his body into the Forbidden Forest and leave it to rot.

Mr and Mrs Potter would fall into deep depression that would eventually end up in suicide, leaving Albus and Lily to fend for themselves. Albus would be hell bent on revenge and turn insane while Lily will turn to prostitution so that she could earn enough money to live. My dad, Uncle and brother would be in Azkaban, leaving my two sisters in a deep state of helplessness that will lead them to live under a bridge in a box.

Not to mention the fact that I will have no family and have to live in a caravan at the end of Knockturn alley with my crazy, moody child that hates me because it does not have any money or family.

The rest of the Weasley's will one day find me in my caravan surrounded by alcohol and kill me in my sleep. Then they will all be sent to Azkaban, too, where they will meet my family and have an out-right war with them, resulting in many deaths.

Turning, I threw up all over the floor.

Just brilliant.

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**This is an idea I have had for a long, long time, but I always thought it was too cliché for my liking. However, I've decided I'm just going to try it out. I can't get the idea out of my head and I never will if I don't do something about it.**

**So, tell me what you think, please! **

**Thanks, Layla.**


	2. Ah, what alcohol does to you

**Own nothing except Callie and her family.**

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**Callie POV: Chapter 2. ****Ah, what alcohol does to you . . . **

That day I wondered around in an almost drug-like haze. It wasn't the lack of sleep of the terrible all-day sickness (who the hell said it was _morning _sickness?) that was almost making me delusional—no, it was the complete _**horror**_. What sixteen-year-old wants to be sat on her bed wondering what the hell she was going to do now she was up the duff? None, that's who, well, unless that sixteen-year-old is slightly crazy.

The only thing sixteen-year-old should worry about are exams, who to go with on the next Hogsmeade trip, and what days they were going to hang out with their friends. At least, that's the only things _I_ wanted to be worrying about. Yet, there I sat, staring at the star filled sky with my heart getting heavier by each passing second.

My sister came in at around nine o'clock and gave me a confused look when she seen my terrified expression. I probably looked like Voldemort had just popped up in the window to say hi. She asked me what was wrong and when I replied I had seen a spider, she shrugged it off and flounced into the bathroom. Spiders were my deathly fear, I hated everything about them, even the tiny, baby ones that you had to squint to see. However, I would have easily eaten five spiders if it would get me out of being knocked up.

I sat for an hour on my bed thinking about all the different ways I could have prevented this from happening. And they were _a lot_. It was sad, really, how many I could come up with and that if I had only changed _one thing _I wouldn't have been contemplating running head-first through my window. I could have not gone to Lily's party, I could have not have accepted the first, second, hell even tenth beer, and, most of all, I could have not shagged James Potter.

Yeah, that would have been the ultimate thing not to do.

_It had started off a pretty normal weekend. Thanks to my ever-constant insomnia I had stayed up until four in the morning and slept till early afternoon. I had joined my friends for breakfast, or dinner for most, and then hung around the black lake under the slightly warm sun. Coco complained about school, work, bitchy girls and parties, and I, like the brilliant sister I am, silently listened and hummed when I deemed the right time. _

_It was not until around seven at night did things take a turn for the worse, not that I knew at the time._

"_HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME! HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR MMMMMEEEEE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!"_

_The voice was coming from a giggling Lily Potter as Freddie Weasley came through the portrait hole with her balanced on his right shoulder. In one hand Lily had two bottles or tequila and the other clung to Freddie's tee-shirt for dear life. Followed behind them were their family and friends, including my cousins Keegan and Teagan, who happened to two of Lily's best friends. Teagan instantly took a seat beside me with her usual cheeky dimpled grin while Keegan sat on the floor his Hugo Weasley._

"_Look what we stole from the kitchens!" Lily boasted brightly as Freddie set her back on her feet. She shoved one large bottle into Rose's hands, who scrunched her long nose up and immediately passed it to Albus, and waved the other bottle like it was a trophy._

"_It's not exactly hard, Lils," Albus grinned from beside me, "all you have to do I distract the house-elves with a light or something and sneak into the back."_

"_Shut up, you," Lily wagged her slim finger in Albus' face with a proud smile. "I'm proud of myself, don't damper my mood on my birthday, nitwit."_

"_I can't believe you're fifteen already," Louis Weasley sighed and Lily beamed. "Maybe we should lock you in a tower before you grow anymore. I don't think I can handle it."_

"_You're just a cry baby!" Lily sang, motioning for Vera Thomas to sit next to her on the opposite couch. _

"_Don't be such a spoilt sport, Weasley," I grinned mockingly at the handsome blonde. "The woman wants to celebrate her birthday."_

_Oh, would those words come back to bite me in the arse._

"_Exactly! Thank you, Callie!" Lily squealed, cracking open the bottle and taking a generous swig. _

_Audrey Longbottom and James Potter laughed from a little behind her and took a seat in the large circle we had all formed. I knew them all (who didn't?), the Potter-Weasley clan were famous, popular and always looked happy. Albus, Rose and Lily were some of my best friends, Albus I had met on the first day of school after I found him trying to turn his pet owl bright red, but only managed to turn the poor animal bald. We become good friends after I had laughed and tried to do it to Coco's owl, but set the seat on fire. We bonded over trying to get the flames out. Rose Weasley came along a little while later reading a book of Hogwarts History and Coco was my other half, so we were all thrown together. Scorpius Malfoy became a part of our group two years later when we stopped a group of sixth years trying to hex him. _

_Lily arrived in my third year and with her bright smile, sarcastic humour and carefree laugh, I couldn't help but become friends with her. We weren't as close as I was to Albus, but I thought of her as a younger cousin. James, Louis, Freddie and Dom, the year above us, had always been an unbreakable group, along with Ryder Wood, Ethan Markesan, Audrey Longbottom and Vera Thomas. We chatted sometimes (asking James to pass the butter and bread counted as talking, right?), but Albus, Rose or Lily was always around me. _

_Half an hour later most people were tipsy, or out-right drunk, and Audrey had come up with the idea to play truth or dare. Coco and Louis had snogged three times, Birdie, another one of Lily's best mates, had snogged Roxanne Weasley once, and then threw up in the fireplace. Freddie had ran down to the Great Hall naked and Teagan had eaten five worms, then promptly threw up in the flower pot near the window._

_It was Audrey's turn and Freddie, being the fast idiot he is, had called dare master. _

"_I dare you to snog James."_

_She laughed and shrugged, getting to her feet to meet James halfway in the circle. James had moved to sit next to Lily five minutes into the game after claiming Birdie was giving her the 'I-want-to-shag-you-look', which he wasn't, James was just overprotective as was Albus, who kept sending Birdie a glare every two minutes. There was a collective sound of awkward giggles and whoops as the two snogged. Most people thought Audrey and James were going to end up together, best friends turned lovers was the perfect story, even I had thought it once. That was until I had a conversation with Lily about it and Lily said Audrey was hopelessly in love with someone else. She didn't tell me who, Lily is fiercely loyal and kept her friends secrets, but she said it wasn't James. _

_They stopped and grinned at each other before taking their seats again. It went on for a while, in which I had to put ice down my pants and give Albus a drunken lap dance, Coco snogged Louis two more times, Dom snogged Ryder and Ethan, Freddie snogged Vera, and then, earning a rise from most guys and a astounded gasp from the girls, Teagan and Lily snogged after getting the dare from a drunk Biride._

_At around midnight a few people went off to bed, staggering and holding each other up as they went. At around one the last people went to bed, Albus and Coco, until it was just James Potter and I. During the night I had gotten use of the full couch and was far too comfy to move while James sat on the opposite couch drinking some beer Louis had stashed under his bed. _

"_So, Denison," James said in a loose voice. "I heard you're getting it on with Bones."_

"_Not anymore," I replied sluggishly. "He cheated on me with that bitch, Chelsea Vane."_

"_Oh, sorry," he answered awkwardly._

_I'm sure if I was sober I would have been extremely awkward and excused myself straight away, but I was drunk off many shots of tequila and bottles of beer, so I didn't give a shit. I carried on drinking and staring at the blank white ceiling as if there was something terribly interesting there._

_James struck up a conversation about his favourite thing in the world, Quidditch. He was captain, and had been for three years, of the Gryffindor Quidditch team and they had had a very good winning streak. Then we talked about the likelihood of a giant and Hippogriff having a baby and the fact that Professor Slughorn could be a long lost relative of the whales. We carried on our disconnected talk for about half an hour until we got to the deeper stuff, love, death and a horny Professor McGonagall (that made me throw up a little bit). _

_At around three am September 18__th__, James Sirius Potter kissed me._

_This, I was confused by. We hadn't talked very much before tonight and we only knew each other as a connection to Albus. James was into girls like Rebecca Stinson, Bonnie Finnegan and Natalia McLaggen, not sarcastic weirdoes like me. _

_The kiss tasted like beer and peanuts and was bore from drunkenness and horniness. I should have pushed him away, slapped him, kicked him in the nuts and then ran for my life, but I didn't. I stayed, because even though it felt strange, it was also kind of soft and warm. _

_When his hands gravitated to my arse, I pushed him way. _

"_We should be getting to bed," I said shakily. He pulled further away, nodding with a small sigh. He knew what 'too late' meant. 'I'm not going to shag you when we've only had one plausible conversation in our lives.'_

_I got up to walk back to the dorms but instantly fell back down again, pulling James with me after I had reached out to save myself. He fell on top of me, his swollen plump lips a centimetre from mine, slightly parted so his warm breath washed over my face. Suddenly, my brain kicked into drunken overdrive and it was like I had known James Potter my entire life. So I pulled him down to kiss me. _

_We rolled onto the floor, tearing clothes, banging heads off coffee tables and hitting limbs off nearby furniture. We kissed and awkwardly laughed and rolled around the floor like some wild animals. _

_The next day I awoke with a killer hangover, every muscle in my body sore and a terrible feeling of regret and anger. I left before James could even stir._

And that, my friends, was how I shagged James Sirius Potter in the Gryffindor common room and started an awfully cliché life.

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**Thanks to the people that reviewed, meant a lot to me!**

**So, what do you think? Do you like the characters? Anything you want to happen in the future chapters? Anything I missed?**

**-Laylax**


	3. Rude sisters and messed up emotions

_**Don't own anything. . . Except Callie and her family and the other OC's**_

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_**Chapter 3.**_

It took me two months to finally get a pregnancy test and piss on the thing. I figured, if you ignore something for long enough, it'll go away and leave you along, right?

Wrong.

The situation got worse and worse.

The day after _that night _I stayed in bed all day nursing a wicked hangover while Coco moaned from the bed beside me about how she was going to die. It wasn't until about four in the afternoon, when the hangover had cooled off a bit, did I really start to freak out. After realized that, yes, I had in fact shagged James Potter in the middle of the common room, my head and heart started to pound. I hopped around the room like a rabbit on crack for about two hours, with Coco complaining from her bed and sending me slightly worried looks, wondering what the hell I was going to do.

Did I talk to him about it? Did we act like adults and talk things out? Do we see what this means for us? Do we have a civilised conversation about feelings, why we slept together and what we were going to do next?

No, of course we didn't, we opted for the easier option and blissfully ignored each other.

Instead of asking James for the bread and butter, I asked Louis or Freddie. When Al sat down to talk to James I went off to see Lily or Rose, and when I saw him in the hallway or in the common room I just pretended like I didn't see him.

Well, that was going to be significantly harder now I was _**CARRING HIS CHILD!**_

James seemed to feel as awkward as I did, when he seen me he would run a hand through his brown hair (something Al and Lily also did when they were feeling nervous or anxious) and avoid my eyes like the plague. I was quite happy with that, thank you very much. I was happy with how things were before Lily's party and I was determined for them to be the same.

I ran shit out of look on that one, didn't I?

Coco knocked me out of my daze a week after taking the pregnancy test. I was sat on the windowsill imagining people dying in the goriest ways and thinking about how much easier they had it when she came over and pushed me onto the floor. I vomited a bit in my mouth and then cursed the pits of hell for giving me a bossy twin sister.

"Up, now." she demanded swiftly. "You've been depressed for weeks and you need to eat before you die."

Rude.

She made me change into a jumper and jeans before we made our way down for dinner. Lessons had finished two hours ago but I had raced back to my dorm so I could wallow in self-pity in my bed for no one to see. It made my life a little easier knowing I could cry without people seeing. Coco rambled on about unimportant shit as we slowly made our way to the Great Hall.

"Hey, guys!" Al chirped happily as we took our seats. I glared at him for just being happy. He smirked at me. "Well, isn't someone a little cranky?"

Yeah, and your brother knocked me up, twat-ward.

"Fuck off."

"That would be a yes," Scorp piped in not-so-helpfully.

Coco piled her plate with pancakes that were practically drowning in maple syrup as she had a bright conversation with Rose about something or other. Usually their conversations were about things that no one cared about, like Divination. Rose thought it was a pile of shite while Coco thought it was fun so they normally ended up in a pretty heated fight before someone would mention the new fashion trend and they would turn into best friends again.

"Callie," my younger brother, Bruce, grunted as he took a seat next to me. I stopped shovelling my porridge around in my bowl to send him a half glare half curious look.

"What?"

He raised his eyebrows at me. "What crawled up your arse and died?"

Nothing, but James Potter had fertilized the hell out of my eggs, so I had a right to be annoyed.

Not that I said that.

I huffed and rested my head on my hand as Albus laughed loudly in my ear. I cringed, wanting desperately to go back into my bed and cry until I was all cried out. Crying seemed to be the thing that got me through the day. It was a like a volt of frustration leaked from me because I had no other way of releasing it, but once it was out I felt like a small weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I wanted that little weight lifted, that made things easier to cope with.

"Guys!" Lily screamed, rushing over to the middle of the table with Cooper hot at her heels. "Guess what I just saw!"

"What?"

"James was snogging Natalia McLaggen in the broom closet and I walked in on them!"

I felt my heart start to race at the mention of James. I still had yet to see him since I found out I was fertilized with his ever-growing child. I was afraid that if I saw his face I would blurt it out to him, and that was not going to be the way I died. James was known for his foul temper (as shown once when Lucas Raven cheated on Lily last year. The poor guy couldn't walk or speak properly for three months) and I was pretty sure he was going to blow when I told him I was . . . _pregnant_. That was why my plan was to send him a letter.

Easy, simple, and I would be miles away from him when he started to have a heart attack.

And then I realized what Lily said.

"He was snogging what now?"

She laughed and I scowled. "Natalia McLaggen. Well, they were more like dry-humping, actually."

"I thought he broke it off with her," Al said casually, as if my stomach hadn't just dropped to my feet and my heart contracted in my chest.

"He did. Obviously, they're back together now, though."

"Only a matter of time," Coco sniggered and Rose chuckled along with her.

I knew it shouldn't, but it hurt. Three months after we had shagged and James was already gallivanting off with other girls. Here I was, scared shitless and carrying his baby, while he was off shagged women in broom closets and acting as if nothing had changed.

I quickly had to remind myself that, for him, nothing had changed. To him, he was still eighteen-year-old, carefree, popular and good-looking James Potter that could have the time of his life and not be judged for it from anyone. He was still number one eligible bachelor in _Witch Weekly _as voted by many girls throughout the country.

He wasn't a dad yet.

"Is that who he's been sneaking around with for the past three months?"

"Probably, yeah."

And just like that I was _fuming_, I couldn't believe he had been shagging her for three months. That meant he was shagging her when we. . . . . I wanted to slap James Potter across his stupid face until he cried like a little girl. Apparently, everyone had gotten used to my mood swings as they didn't even look up as I stormed away, they just carried on talking about James and _Natalia_. Bitch.

I stormed around the castle for a good fifteen minutes, earning quite a few looks from my fellow Hogwarts goers, until I gave up on trying to find Potter and instead went back to the Gryffindor dorms. Louis was sat in the common room, though, so I sent him a hateful look as I passed as a way of saying 'fuck you' to James and everything he likes.

However, after seeing Louis' hurt face I promptly burst into tears and started to apologize furiously.

Wow, I honestly suck at life.

"What the hell," Louis muttered to himself as I started to sob.

"I-I-I-I'm sorry!" I wailed pathetically as he gently led me onto the couches. "I d-d-didn't m-mean i-i-it!"

"It's fine, honestly, Callie," Louis soothed, though he looked awfully freaked out by my sudden break down.

"N-n-n-no its n-not!"

Apparently, I looked utterly miserable as I took my hands away from my face because Louis wrapped his long, strong arms around me to give me a hug. It was kinda nice, feeling a little reassurance though he didn't really know he was giving me it. He was just helping out some pathetic teenage girl that clearly couldn't handle her raging hormones, or was terribly insane. He probably thought the latter.

"What have you done to her?"

"Nothing!" came Louis' outraged voice in my ear. "She just started to bawl after she sent me a dirty look."

I started to cry harder knowing he was offended by my look. I was manoeuvred into shorter, softer arms and was taken up the stairs by Coco. She patiently waited as I blubbered into her shoulder.

"What's up with you lately, Callie? You've been all depressed and shit. It's not good for your health."

"Nothing." I answered stupidly.

She sent me a withering look. "Stop being silly, Callie. Just tell me, I'm your sister—your best friend."

"I—I," shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, double shit, triple shit!

_Callie, she's waiting for an answer, idiot._

. . . . .

_ANSWER HER!_

"I just miss dad, that's all. He must be lonely at home."

I said it so convincingly she believed me, nodding her head and smiling softly at me.

"Well, we good home in a month, so that's okay. Send him a letter or something."

I tried to look like I was excited by that fact and enthusiastically nodded.

She skipped off to tell Albus, who was worried after he realized I has stormed off, that I was okay and left me alone on my bed. Feeling low, I glanced around my room and took everything in. The messiness of my corner, how clean Rose's bed was, the dent in the wall Coco and I had made in second year after casting a misaimed spell. We had set Rose's bed on fire that day and tried to blame it on her cat, Rufus, but Rose has seen through our lies and chased us around the common room with a broomstick.

I collapsed back against the bed and sobbed. There wasn't much else I could do.

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**Thanks you to everyone that is reading this story! It means a lot!**

**Thoughts? Am I missing anything? Have anything you want me to add to future chapters?**

**-Laylax**


	4. Feeling sick and running into idiots

**Don't own anything except the OC's.**

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Chapter 4

"So, this is boring."

I peeked up from under my eyelashes and sent Albus a deathly glare. I wasn't in the mood to be fun today, it wasn't even lunch yet and I had thrown up six times and yet I was still extremely bloated. My head was throbbing and no matter how slow and steady I moved, I still felt incredibly dizzy.

"Entertain yourself," I muttered, letting my head fall back into the table. I could hear the constant bubbling of our potion, which was just in front of me, echoing into my ears and the sweet and sour aromas of all the different ingredients we had used. Mixed together, they were making my stomach churn every five seconds. Albus, however, didn't seem to care about this fact and kept prodding me in the arm.

"You're boring me."

"And you're annoying me."

"Get up, Callie! We can even throw worms into Sarah Vane's hair if you want."

Damn, he knew my weakness.

I lifted my head from the table to say yes, but an overwhelming urge to spew filled me and I let my head flop again. "I can't, man, I think I'm going to throw up," came my muffled reply.

"I think you're dying or something, you've been like this for weeks."

"Wow, you sure know how to make a girl feel better."

"Will you two shut up?" Rose's voice scolded, though I did not lift my head to look at her. "I can hear you from where I'm sat."

"Not that amazing, then, considering you're sat a foot in front of us."

"I don't appreciate your jokes." She paused for a second and then said, "what's up with Callie?"

"She feels sick."

"Again? I think we should take her to the hospital wing."

"I said that, too, but she won't," Coco joined the conversation with a heavy sigh.

Albus snorted, "I'll drag her there."

"I know the body binding curse."

"You know everything, Rose."

"I'm still here, you know," I called out in frustration. "And if you put I body binding curse on me, I'll kill you all."

Albus wagged his finger in my face and I mockingly went to bite it. "How could you kill us if you're immobile?"

I whacked him over the head with my text book.

Potions came to end and fifteen minutes later and it was time for lunch. I attentively picked up some melon and strawberries, the only things on the table that didn't make me want to up-chuck, and took tiny bites out of each. As I took another bite I felt someone take a seat next to me and turned to see Dominique Weasley grinning at someone in front of her.

"Come on, James, just tell us! We won't say anything," she giggling brightly and Carly, who Dom has been grinning at, laughed loudly.

"No, shut up, now," Potter snapped, his cheeks blooming bright red. He glimpsed down the table and then stared down at his plate like it was the most interesting thing in the world.

"Why not? Come one, mate," Dylan (I think) Wood said. "Tell us."

I shrunk back into Al's side and ignored my thumping heart, which always seemed to appear when James Sirius Potter was around. My stomach fluttered as he caught my eye and I quickly turned away, joining Coco and Scorpius' conversation about Quididtch.

"What's going on?" Al asked curiously as Freddie Weasley took a turn to beg.

"James let slip that he shagged someone at Lily's party," Louis smirked.

My heart skipped a beat and I dropped my melon suddenly feeling full.

"What? Everyone there was someone we knew," Rose replied.

"Yeah, apparently, someone walked into the common room after we all went to bed and James shagged her."

I needed to leave. I needed to get out of here.

I felt like I was under immense pressure, that everyone was staring at me, but in reality no one was paying attention to me. They were all staring at James. I tried to wiggle my way out but I was wedged in between Albus and Dom so hard I couldn't slip away unnoticed.

"Just drop it, okay? I'm not going to tell you," Potter muttered angrily. His bright hazel eyes flickered my way and my body broke out into a cold sweat, rushing through my veins faster than lightening. Once again, I leaned back out of sights way and gingerly played with my goblet.

"Why not? You've told us about all the other girls you've shagged."

An unearthly feeling bubbled deep in my stomach at Dylan's words. It was . . . weird knowing James has slept with so many girls I had been a virgin.

Damn, I should have waited until marriage to have sex.

"This . . . this is different, okay? I don't think she'd be very happy with me if I told people. In fact, I'm pretty sure she'd beat me up, so I'm not saying anything."

Well, at least he was telling the truth.

Out of the corner of my eyes I saw Potter glance at Albus, then me, and back to his plate with a hard look in his eyes. I scowled, wondering what was going on in his head when he looked at me. Was I just another shag to him? Probably. I felt sick, and not from morning sickness, knowing I had lost my virginity to someone I didn't even _like_. I had never been one of those people that said "I want to be in love before I have sex", but loosing it to someone I had only talked too a handful of times made me feel slightly . . . sad—and angry at myself.

I hastily excused myself and ran up into my dorm to lay on my bed.

Life sucked.

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I felt like complete shit.

Instead of being the last one up and shouting at everyone to shut the hell up, I was the first one to be annoying and ran into the bathroom to barf up everything I had eaten the day before. I had forgotten to close the door so my retching echoed through the dormitories.

"Merlin," Megan Smith, one of my dorm mates, grunted as she come tumbling into the bathroom. "What's wrong? Is someone dying?"

"No, stomach bug," I replied, my head still down the loo bowl.

"Have some stomach settler or something," Linda Scott, Megan's best friend and other one of my roommate's, advised softly. "I've got some in my trunk, if you want some."

"Sure."

But as she disappeared off I wondered if medicines were bad for the kid currently cooking in my womb. I knew pregnant women weren't allowed to drink coffee or alcohol, so surely medicines would also harm the thing. Linda came back into the room with two small tablets in her dainty hand and I smiled gratefully, though I'm sure it came out as more of a grimace. I pretended to bend over to take a drink of water from the tap and sneakily dropped the tablets down the drain.

"Thanks, I can sleep again," I smiled.

Linda looked incredibly proud of herself and Megan stomped back over to her bed muttering about stupid roommates, so I figured it worked. I should have been a Slytherin, I'm so God damn sneaky.

I didn't sleep again, not even a wink. Neither Rose nor Coco had stirred during my 'spewing my guts out' thing so I had no one to talk to or annoy. Slowly, the sun rose and I heard Coco and Rose's whispered voices from the right of me so I sat up into sitting position.

"Callie?" Rose said in shock. "What are you doing up before half eight?"

"Couldn't sleep."

"She was throwing up in the night," Megan put in not-so-helpfully.

"What?" Coco yowled worriedly. "Seriously, Callie, I'm taking you to the hospital wing no matter what you say."

I nodded and secretly made up a plan to get away from her when she tried to drag me. It would be easy, all I needed was something sparkly.

I threw on my uniform, which had become a bit too tight in resent days, and followed Rose and Coco down to breakfast. Albus and Scorpius sent me an incredulous look when they saw me. I usually didn't surface until quarter to nine when I would stuff all my food in my mouth and then rush off to my lesson.

"Has something happened? Did someone die? Has the apocalypse happened?"

I glared at Albus and he laughed, wrapping his arm around my shoulders when I sat down on the bench.

"I couldn't sleep properly," I murmured tiredly.

"Poor baby."

"Go away."

Nothing after that went my way, either. I almost hexed myself twice in DADA and almost blew myself up in Potions, then turned my chair into a fierce beast in Transfiguration that tried to eat me. I spent my whole free period and lunch hauled over a toilet bowl feeling like I was going to die from exhaustion. Finally, the last two periods rolled around and I felt my whole body sing with relief.

However, just as things were looking up, I realized I had left my homework for Charms in the toilets when I was going over it for the lesson. I left my things with Albus and ran back as fast as I could, and bumped into someone.

Honestly, I suck at life.

My brain seemed to jiggle in my head and my stomach churned as I pinged back against the person's hard form.

"Watch where you're going, idiot," I snipped hatefully. When I looked up I froze.

Shit.

Double shit.

"Hey, Callie."

Triple shit.

"Hello, James."

He grinned at me and I hated that my stomach broke into butterflies. Unsuccessfully, I tried to ignore the cute way his dimples would appear with the slightest movement on his mouth, or the way his hazel eyes seemed to constantly shine with mischief.

Suddenly, he frowned, cleared his throat and ran a hand through his hair. "Listen, Callie, I'm sorry about yesterday at the table . . . you know, when they brought up Lily's party."

"No big deal," I replied.

_LAIR!_

"I didn't mean to tell them, it just kinda slipped out the other day when they were bugging me about . . . stuff."

"You mean Natalia McLaggen," I answered scornfully.

He looked shocked for a moment before he composed himself. "How did you—"

"Lily told everyone," I shrugged back coldly. "Have you told her you shagged someone else while you were seeing her?"

His face scrunched up into an intense uncomfortable expression. "No, and I'm not exactly seeing her, I'm just—"

"Fucking her, yeah, I get it."

"No, no—"

"Don't lie," I spat, though I didn't know why I was so angry. I shouldn't be angry. I shouldn't care. "It doesn't matter anyway," I lied smoothly. "It's not like either of us care. You can shag however you want, and so can I."

I stormed past him before he could reply and felt incredibly proud of myself as I picked up my Charms homework. Then my stomach fluttered and I remembered what our night of "not caring" had resulted in and dropped to my knees in guilt.

I skipped my last two periods and spent them crying and blowing snot into a tissue like the pathetic bitch I felt like. The last bell dinged through the bathroom and someone knocked at my stall door.

"Callie? It's me, Coco. What are you doing in there?" a voice eerily similar to my own said. I wiped my eyes with the spare tissue and blew my nose again.

"I'm fine, I'm coming out in a second!"

I was lying and Coco seemed to catch onto this too as seconds later she was climbing over the top of the stall. She landed gracefully onto the loo bowl and dropped down next to me with a confused and worried expression.

"What's up, Cal? You've been really depressed these past few weeks. It's not good for you."

"Nothing."

She sent me a withering look so similar to my own I almost laughed. "Bullshit, Calliope. Tell me what's wrong or I'm sending a letter to dad about you, and you know he'll come down here."

I rested my head against my knees and stared at my identical twin with blank eyes. She was right, if she sent a letter to dad about me crying he would burst into the Headmistress' office and wouldn't leave until I was in his arms and he knew what was wrong with me. As I stared into her wide, light blue eyes I realized, with deep shock and regret, that I _wanted _to tell her. Coco had been by my side since the day we were born, we had been through thick and thin, deep and shallow—she was my_ best _friend.

Yet, I didn't want her to judge me. Coco was known for her very bubbly attitude and happy smile, but I had always been the mature one. I had always been the one the one to take care of us, to assure us that we were going to be okay and put us back into good moods. Knowing that I was failing Coco made me want to throw myself down the stairs. Not only Coco, but my dad, my Aunt Annie, the only mother figure in my life, my brother Bruce, my little sister Sage. They all expected more of me and to know that they would have to deal with my mistake . . . I wanted to cry again.

"It's bad, Callie," I whispered, wiping the leaking tears running down my cheeks.

"Of course it's bad, idiot, or you wouldn't be crying. I haven't seen you cry for years."

"Coco—"

"Just tell me, come on, Callie, I'm your _sister_! Tell me."

I didn't know whether it was my mesh of hormones, my inability to keep my mouth shut, or my utter idiocy—or maybe it was just that this was _Coco_ and she was my sister. But the words that had been dancing on the end of my tongue screeching to be said slipped out.

"I'm pregnant."

* * *

**I know I haven't updated in forever but I actually have a good excuse. My laptop broke on me and I didn't get it back for a while, and when I did get it back they told me the hard drive had gone. Well, this meant I lost _everything_. As in, all the stories that I had been working on, and the stories I has been posting. Therefore, I lost everything I had written for this story, meaning I lost around fifteen chapters. My laptop had to be sent off and I only got it back four days ago and since then I have been writing none stop to try and get everything back to normal again. **

**Anyways, I looked over the previous chapters and thought hard about the story and I've changed some things. Nothing utterly major, but some things, like Lily and Callie being best friends, and Keegan and Teagan (Callie's cousins who were best friends with Lily) aren't in the story anymore. I kind of thought everything over and realized just how stupid some of the things I had come up with were . . . **

**So! I've revamped the story and now I've put up a new chapter! Hope you like it, and I'm sorry for the long wait, it annoyed me, too!**

**As usual, if you have any thoughts tell me!**

**-Laylax**


	5. Shouting sisters, nostalgic feelings

**Don't own anything except OC's.**

* * *

**Mistakes.**

Chapter 5. Shouting sisters, nostalgic feelings and freak outs

"_**WHAT**_!"

Honestly, I didn't think someone so delicate could scream so loud. Coco tried to stand up, but hit her head off the toilet roll holder and sank back onto her arse rubbing the back of her head. Despite myself, I snorted at her. She turned back to me with blazing blue eyes and I felt myself cower back into the corner of the stall.

"Are you having my life?" Coco hissed, still rubbing her head. "You're joking, right? This is your idea of a stupid joke. Like the time you ran into the black lake in your underwear with Albus."

I remembered that day, we were all in fourth year and we were sitting around the oak tree laughing and joking around. I had dared Albus to run into the lake with only his boxers on and he agreed, if I went with him. After a lost of coaxing from Scorpius, shouting and disgrace from Rose and giggling from Coco, we stripped. The water had been so cold Albus' lips had turned blue within five minutes of being in there and I was pretty sure I almost lost a toe, but it was one of the funniest days of my life.

"No." I chocked, my throat feeling thick.

Merlin, I wanted them days back.

"Bloody hell, Callie!" Coco screamed, this time successfully standing and looking down at me with a angry and sympathetic gaze. I cringed, I hated both of those expressions. "What the _hell_ were you thinking? You're sixteen!"

I nodded, unable to speak.

"Oh my Merlin, dad is going to _murder _you. Actually, never mind dad, _I'm _going to murder you! Moron!" she whacked me over the head and I blinked, scowling at her. "You're _so _stupid."

And, unexpectedly, she lunged forward and hugged me. Sobbing, I wrapped my arms around her slender frame and clung for dear life. I missed my sister.

"When?" Coco asked after five minutes of crying.

"Lily's party."

"Lily's party? But— OH MY GOD! ALBUS IS THE FATHER?"

"What? No!"

"Freddie?"

"No, Coco—"

"_Louis_?"

"No, for Merlin's sake—"

"Is it Hugo, you cradle robber?"

"No, Coco—"

"Oh, no!" she gasped, her hands flying to cover her mouth. "It's _James_!"

I nodded, she screamed.

Bloody hell, does she ever shut up? I can't believe I'm even related to her.

"This is unbelievable!" Coco dived onto her knees with a bright smile. "You shagged _James Potter_? What was it like? Was he good? He's meant to be amazing in bed, well, that's what I heard Bonnie Finnigan say, anyway."

"I don't know, I don't remember."

That was a lie, I remembered every little detail. The way his strong, rough hands slid up my body, how it felt to have his weight pressed against me . . .

Whoa, **down Callie**!

Coco's face fell in disappointment. "Damn, you have sex with Potter and don't remember? I think I'd be more bummed about that than actually getting knocked up."

. . .

Seriously, this is what I'm related to.

"Your mind amazes me," I shook my head. Coco frowned at me, but then broke out into soft giggles.

"Okay, stupid thing to say, but you get what I mean."

I didn't, but I nodded anyway. The day I understood the way Coco's mind works will be the day I jump off the astronomy tower, no joke.

"So, pregnant, huh?" Coco sighed heavily, slumping back against the stall wall. "Now I think about it, it explains a lot. The throwing up, the moodiness—although you've always been moody—ow!" she deserved that punch. "Sorry," she muttered, not looking sorry at all but in fact grinning. "Have you been to the hospital wing yet? Madam Pomfrey might know more about, you know, that." She pointed to my stomach.

"I never thought about it," I replied honestly. "All I've been doing is freaking out about everything."

"Understandable."

"And wondering which person will be the one killing me. Bruce, dad, James, Albus, Rose, Aunt Annie . . ."

"Again, understandable."

"I haven't even—"

"Coco? Callie?" a very loud and very _male _voice echoed into the bathroom. "Are you in here?"

"Is that Al?" Coco whispered, eyebrows knitting together in confusion.

"If you don't answer me _right now _I'm going to kick both of your arses!"

"As if," I snorted. It must have been louder than I thought as the stall door swung open to reveal Albus with Rose just behind him. "Hello, there," I said sarcastically.

"What _are _you doing?" Albus shouted, hand on hips and eyebrows raised threateningly. "I've lugged your stuff around _all day_, and they're bloody heavy, so you better have a good explanation or I'm suing you for the damage in my shoulder."

"I felt sick?"

"That isn't good enough."

"How did you even get in here? This is the _girls' _bathroom, Al," I said as he hauled Coco up to her feet and then squared on me. "Do you have something to tell us?"

"Oh, hardy, har, har, har," he rolled his emerald eyes. "No, I came in here with the intention of kicking you in the head. I didn't really consider that this is the girls' bathroom, actually . . ."

"Of course you didn't, you were probably hoping some poor, innocent girl was in here readjusting her bra or something."

"Funny."

"I thought so."

"Seriously, guys, we need to go before the teachers come," Rose yanked Coco forward, who squeaked in defence. "They could give us detention for this."

Albus dropped my things onto my shoulder with a satisfied smile and then followed his cousin out of the bathroom. Grunting, I chased after them, ignoring Coco's worried looks that she sent me over her shoulder. Scorpius was waiting outside the door for us and immediately started to rag on Albus for going into the girl's bathroom.

I lagged behind them with nagging, painful, nostalgic feelings brewing in the pit of my stomach.

* * *

Don't you love those few seconds in the morning when you just wake up and you forget everything? For the first three seconds you forget your name and your gender, but then those seconds pass and everything comes crashing down on you like a tonne of bricks. I sighed loudly and swung my leg over the bed, only to come face-to-face with Coco.

"Merlin, Coco," I gasped, my hand over my heart. "What the hell are you doing, you freak?"

"Waiting for you."

"That sounds like something from a horror movie."

She rolled her eyes at me, a usual occurrence I'm starting to realize, and pushed herself to her feet. "We haven't talked since you dropped the bomb of . . . _that_," she waved her hand over my stomach area. "And I thought you might want to."

I shrugged, "there's nothing to talk about."

"There's everything to talk about," she cried incredulously. "You're," she glanced around to make sure no one was listening. "_Pregnant_, Callie."

"Oh, really, I never knew that."

"Enough with the sarcasm," she scolded, sending me a glare. However, it didn't really work as she looked like a peeved off baby kitten and it made me smile. "Seriously, you want to talk?"

"No," I replied with a sigh. "I have nothing to say."

It was true, in a way. I had no idea what I was going to say to her without breaking down in tears, which would make her sad, and I didn't want any of that to happen. So I dutifully put on some clothes and, after arguing with Coco a little more, went downstairs for dinner.

"The Ravenclaw verse Gryffindor game is next week," Albus informed me as I took a seat.

"And I care because . . ."

"Alright, grumpy, I was just saying."

"If I'm grumpy you're dopey."

"What?"

"Never mind."

My breakfast was interrupted by our stupid owl, Lionel, swooping into the Great Hall. However, the dipshit thing swooped down too fast and landed in a bowl of scrambled eggs, sending them flying everywhere and onto a group of girls sat just down from us. They screamed and rushed out the hall with disgust written all over their faces.

"Here," Albus said, handing me the letter without even blinking.

_Dear, Callie, Coco and Bruce_

_First of all, write more._

_Second of all, hello, my darling daughters, how are you? (I would know if you wrote to me, however . . .) Everything down here is exceptionally ordinary without you three here. I'm still not used to it. _

_Aunt Annie and Sage tell me to tell you that they miss you like crazy, as do I. I can't wait for you guys to come home for Christmas, Nana is planning a huge family dinner at her house. _

_Make sure to write back (or I may have to come down there)! _

_Love, dad._

_P.S. tell Bruce to behave himself or I'll come down there and hurt him. If I get one more letter from Headmistress Sinistra telling me about him throwing dung bombs at Slytherin's there's going to be trouble_

_P.P.S. But, also, tell him your Aunt Annie is making write that and I actually found it extremely funny._

An overwhelming surge of guilt had overcome me as I passed the letter over to Coco. My dad was going to go bat-shit crazy when I told him about being pregnant.

"Bruce!" Coco shouted down the table to my younger brother. He stopped talking to his friends and ran over with a "what?" look on his face. "Aunt Annie says stop throwing dung bombs at Slytherin's," she continued, scowling as Bruce's face stretched into a huge-arse grin. "And dad says he keeps getting letters from the headmistress about your bad behaviour."

"Hardly bad," Bruce scoffed sardonically. "What's a few pranks here and there?"

"Amen to that, my brother," Freddie hollered as he took a seat beside Albus. Everyone shot him weird looks and he shrugged, piling his plate with all types of meat. His friends, specifically James, took a seat around him and my heart did a strange floppy thing.

What the frick was wrong with me?

A few weeks ago everything was fine. I had no impure or dirty thoughts about him and I could ignore him like he was a fly on the wall. Now, every time he came within three feet of me my heart started to pummel in my chest and he overran all of my thoughts.

Why did the fly on the wall have to turn into a prince charming?

"Hey, Al," a musical voice sounded to the left of me. Standing just behind me were Lily Potter and Cooper Fairfield, both smiling at us showing off perfect, bright white teeth. "Can I borrow your owl? I need to send a letter to Teddy."

"Yeah, sure,," Albus answered, blushing as a girl walked by swinging her hips and winking at him. I snorted into my goblet and Lily hissed at the Hufflepuff girl so she scampered off. "Jeez, Lily, she was just being nice."

"Sure. If being nice means fantasizing about you on top of her."

James, Freddie and Louis all started to choke on their food and I laughed even louder.

"More like inside her," Cooper chortled. "Damn, that was crude even for me."

Lily laughed brightly. "It was funny."

"No it wasn't," Freddie piped up after recovering from his mini freak out/attack. "You two shouldn't even know what they mean."

The two stunning girls chuckled wickedly. "Oh, we _know _what it means," Lily grinned. They swaggered off to talk to Gavin Harper and Reece Finnigan, two of Al's roommates.

"Wait, Lily, what do you mean by that?" Freddie called after her. James looked like he was about to have a heart attack.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT?" Louis screamed girlishly.

Dom started to laugh hysterically and pried her twin brother back onto his seat, though he looked incredibly flustered and near the point of a stroke. "I don't like it when they grow up," Louis muttered after a few calming, long breaths.

Rose snorted. "Merlin, you're such an idiot."

"Overprotective fool," Carly added overly-sweet.

"Yeah, well, your mum." Come Louis oh-so intelligent reply.

"Good come back, mate," Dylan laughed mockingly.

"Very original," Derrick added with the same patronizing tone.

Louis threw some sauce at them.

Ten minutes later I got sick of the constant flipping of my stomach and said I was going to the common room, only to have Albus follow me. We played Wizard Chess for hours until Coco, Scorpius and Rose joined us and coaxed us into a game of exploding snap. We ate sweets, laughing and chatted for a while and had normal, none-pregnancy related fun. That was, however, until I threw up in Rose's hair.

Needless to say, she _was not _impressed.

* * *

**This chapter would have been out earlier, but my family surprised me with an 'before Olymipc celebration/holiday', so we went away for the week. I had no internet, so I couldn't even attempt to post this, but it's finally here! **

**So, thoughts?**

**Thank you to everyone that has reviewed, favourited and alerted! It means so much to me, honestly! It keeps me writing.**

**And to everyone that is watching the Olymipic's, hope you enjoy them! London is pretty hectic right now :)**

**-Laylaxx**


	6. Feeling dirty and telling another

**Don't own anything except OC's.**

* * *

Chapter 6

"I still feel dirty," Rose complained days later when we were sat in DADA. I looked up from my book and saw Rose turned around in her seat doing her work on mine and Albus' desk. Coco was leaned over the side flirting with Andre Thomas, one of Al's friends.

"I said I was sorry," I replied, though my lips twitched dangerously. I quickly turned back to my book before I burst out laughing. Her reaction, which including many swear words, a lot of flapping around like a monged chicken, and Rose almost fainting after catching her reflection in the mirror, was hilarious. I spent the rest of the night laughing my arse off, even during my sleep.

"I bet she doesn't say that very often," Scorpius leaned over from his desk beside us to say. I grinned widely at him and Rose glared, splashing her ink at his face.

"Dude, that's my cousin!" Albus howled, covering his ears. Scorpius laughed and went back to writing his report on the characteristics of werewolves. Rose turned back to her table once Coco had stopped flirting and half an hour later the bell rang signifying lunch. Coco joined my side and the others walked ahead.

"How's little thing?" Coco cooed, wiggling her forefinger at my stomach. I whacked her hand away and whipped around to check if anyone was looking. Merlin, why did I tell Coco about this? She's the worst person _ever _to keep secrets.

"Fine," I hissed under my breath, my arms tightening around the books I was holding. "Don't do that, idiot, some one might see!"

"Crap, sorry."

Some people just have no tact.

Unlike me, I have loads of tact. I can walk around this place acting as if everything is just dandy. I'm practically shitting rainbows and burping butterflies.

"You walk like a tortoise," Albus informed me brightly as I sat by his side.

"Well, at least I don't look like one."

"Nice comeback."

I nudged his side softly and ignored the guilt that gnawed inside my gut. Albus had been my best guy friends since I was eleven and I had been lying to him for two months. Not only that, but I also shagged his brother. I'm pretty sure there's some kind of law against that. I mean, I've always been one to go against the rules, but this was practically Azkaban level.

Well, it was in guy code anyway. Something that Albus said I was apart of since I was one of his best friends and he _was not _going to go with the "girl code". Personally, I thought girl code was a lot better than guy code. Albus once told me one of guy codes rules was, "You cannot sleep with an ex-girlfriend of a mate unless she's _really, __**really **_hot". What kind of rule is that? That's like saying you can't kill someone unless they're _really, __**really **_annoying.

Okay, so it's not quite like that.

Is this what pregnancy brain is? I don't like it. I sound even stupider than I did before. Which, really, is an accomplishment in itself.

"Callie?!" Albus shouted while waving his face in front of my face.

I shook my head and blinked several times. "What?" I questioned blankly.

"You've been staring into space for, like, ten minutes, what's up?"

"Nothing. Just thinking about the stupidity of guy code, again."

"For the millionth time, Calliope, guy code _is not stupid_!"

"It is."

"Isn't."

"Is."

"_Isn't._"

"_Is._"

"_**Isn't**_."

"_**Is**_."

"I_**sn—**_"

"Shut up!" Rose screamed, gathering the attention of many people around us. "You're giving me a headache!"

We were silent for a good ten seconds before Al grinned boyishly, "well, _someone's _a little cranky."

"You PSMing, Rose?"

"That's gross!" Scorpius squealed girlishly. Coco snorted, but then started to have a coughing fit as her food went down the wrong way. Rose immediately started to freak out and screamed "_SHE'S DYING_!" while Scorpius tried to de-lodge the food from a now panicking Coco and calm down Rose as her face turned an unusual shade of red. Albus and I just sat there laughing.

After everything had calmed down we trooped to Charms class and took some seats at the back. All the way through the lesson Albus kept mocking and recreating Scorpius' scream, making the blonde blushing drastically against his pale skin, and I was told off at least ten times for laughing during the lesson. Coco still wasn't over her "near-death experience" and Rose was laughing, too, until Albus started to mock her as well and then she turned into glaring at us.

After lessons we sat around the Gryffindor common room fire doing homework, most of which I bullshitted, so when I read back over it I understood nothing. I couldn't bring myself to care, however, as my stomach churned dramatically within me. I spent the next two hours curled into a ball, rocking back and forth whist on the verge of crying. At first my friends sent me worried looks, but soon got used to it and ignored my pathetic puppy-like whimpering.

"How about we go and get ice-cream?" Albus asked when I let out a particularly loud moan.

"Chocolate?"

"Of course."

I bullied him into piggybacking me down to the kitchens and hid my face into his now thick shoulder. Albus had grown around a foot over the summer, which was unfair considering I hadn't grown since I was twelve, and was now a muscled as Freddie, Louis and James, who all seemed to be tall and stocky. I always thought Albus would be tall, gangly and lanky, but I was proved wrong when he came around my house one day with a deep voice, around six feet tall, and very muscled. As soon as he spoke I said, "I see your balls have finally dropped, then?" which caused him to chase me around the house for an hour and my dad to spit out his drink all over my Aunt Annie because he didn't know his daughter knew about sex. This resulted in me and Coco being sat down in the living room and going through the most awkward conversation of my life: the sex talk. Bloody hell, it was awful. I don't—I can't even relive it.

"Hello, Mr Potter, what can Blinky do for you today?" the freaky bright blue eyed house elf squeaked when we walked inside the kitchen. I flinched back and rushed to take a seat at the table in the corner. House elves freaked me out since the day my family and I visited the ministry and one ran after me with a knife after thinking I was an intruder. It took fifteen minutes for Coco to stop laughing and rescue me. I seriously didn't understand why Rose's mum had such an obsession with those things.

"So, Callie-bean," Al hollered as he took a seat opposite me. "What's up with you lately? Anything new?"

"Nope."

"Liar."

"What?" I blanched.

"There's something definitely wrong with you," he leaned forward and looked deep into my eyes with his bright green orbs. I immediately looked away and tried not to get sucked into his puppy dog stare. He could really work it with those eyes of his. "I just can't figure out what it is."

"Nothing's wrong," I squeaked, and then cursed myself into the pits of hell.

"Yes there is. You know there is and yet you won't tell me."

I stayed silent, unable to think of anything to say or anyway to get my way out of this.

"I'll take that as a yes, then," he smirked proudly at me. It took all my energy not to flip him off. He continuously rapped his fingers against the oak table and stared at me—actually, he _examined _me. It was like lasers digging into my skin as he stared at me, trying to figure me out. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat, a sweat breaking out all over my skin with each passing second.

_**STOP LOOKING AT ME!**_

He didn't.

Nerves began to creep up at me, my brow started to pour with sweat, my stomach started to ache, and the hairs on my body stood up on end like a frightened cat.

Oh, Merlin, I was going to be sick again, I just know it.

"Tell me, dammit!" he yelled, whacking his hands down on the table and I jumped. A small, cute-ish house elf near the sinks burst into tears at the loud noise and locked herself into the wine closet. "Please, Callie, I'm worried about you. You're not eating properly, you look really pale, and you're always not feeling well, yet you refuse to go to the hospital wing. What's up with that?"

I didn't like his serious tone. Albus had always been the joker of the group, the one with a smile on his face, the happy-go-lucky twat that I loved to complain about, but really if he changed even the slightest bit I would probably walk out of the school and never look back. He was my best friend that wasn't related to me. My brother from another mother, as Al loved to say when we were only young, innocent children gallivanting through the halls of Hogwarts with our whole future ahead of us.

"I can't," I breathed through a lump in my throat. My eyes were stinging like bee stings and I was shaking like a leaf by this point.

"Fine," he sighed heavily. "Just fine, then. I thought we were best friends, Callie. Obviously not if you can't even tell me what's wrong with you. I'm—you—we—I'm going."

"Albus, please—"

He shook his head to stop me and held up his hand. Tears started to leak out my eyes now and for the first time in my life, I didn't care who saw. Albus couldn't walk away from me . . . could he? If he did I would never be able to live with myself. But as I watched his slender frame walk around the corner of the door, I knew he had. He'd walked away from me.

My heart suddenly felt like someone was hammering it and, no matter how much I screamed, just wouldn't stop.

He couldn't walk away from me. If Albus, one of my best friends, walked away, who would stay with me? Coco would, obviously, mostly because she's my sister, but would Rose walk away? Would Scorpius? Or, ever worse, my dad? My brother? My Aunt Annie?

"Albus!" I screamed hysterically, nearly shoving a house elf as I chased after him. "Albus, wait!"

He was just about to walk up the stairs now and I was down the opposite end of the hall. So, with all my might, I screamed, "ALBUS!"

A portrait nearby started to shout at me and another threateningly waved his stupid, old fist at me, but I didn't care. Albus turned around and I ran to him, stopping only a foot away and hastily wiped my wet cheeks.

"Are you crying?" he asked incredulously.

"Shut up," I snapped defensively. "I—you walked away from me."

"Yeah," he replied rather softly. "It's just—I thought we were best friends, you know? We told each other everything. You told me all about your mum walking out, and I told you everything about how I hate living in all my family's shadows. I mean, if you told me about that, nothing can be worse, right? It just . . . it hurts, knowing my best friend won't tell me something. And I know you've always been closer to Coco than me—and I'm okay with that—but I still like to think we're close enough—"

"I'm pregnant."

"—to share everything and I—wait, what?"

"I'm pregnant."

He blinked. "Are you sure?" he finally sputtered. "Can't it just be a food baby or something?"

Albus Potter, the smart one.

"Oh, yeah, I never thought about that, actually," I answered sarcastically. "Of course it's not a food baby, you dolt! I've took," I looked around to make sure no one was close. "A pregnancy test," I whispered almost silently. "And it was positive. Plus, I've kinda got a bump."

"What—I—are—you—we—are you sure?"

"About 99.99 percent."

"So there's still a chance you may not be?"

"Really, Albus? _Really_?"

He paused for a minute and looked me up and down, his eyes resting on my tummy for seconds longer than the rest of my body. "I need to sit down," he stated, falling back on his arse and onto the stairs. Patiently, I stood with my hands cradled behind my back, awkwardly rocking back and forth of my heels as I watched him run his hands through his thick, raven hair multiple times.

Five minutes passed so I started to count the cracks in the floor. I was up to number forty-six when he spoke again. "Why didn't you just tell me that before? It would have saved a lot of time."

_Well, you see, the dad of this thing, is your brother. And I'm pretty sure you're going to faint and/or die if I tell you this right now. Or you may even explode from information overload._

"Well," I laughed humourlessly. "That's a brilliant question, that is, how about we come back to it another time? Like around seven months from now when this baby is out of me and I can run really fast."

"So, clearly, it's the dad's someone we know," Albus snorted.

I puffed out a breath through pursed lips and nodded, my heart beating like an excited humming bird.

"Are you going to tell me?"

I opened my mouth wide enough for insects to fly into. The words were tipping and dancing on the end of my tongue, but they just wouldn't come out. I closed my mouth, cleared my throat and tried again. Still, nothing came out, and I ended up looking like a human fish.

"By your incapability of speech, I'm guessing it's someone we're close to?"

I made a "kind of" action with my hand. My brain was pounding against my skull now.

"Wait," Albus gasped. "Oh my, Merlin, he's related to me, isn't he?" his face fell into his hands so only his mouth was visible. I opened my mouth and this time a squeak came out. "Oh, God, this is awful, this is atrocious. This is against guy code, Calliope Denison!"

I wanted to tell him guy code is stupid anyway, but I seemed to have lost the capability of speaking, so I sent a scowl at him instead. However, he wasn't looking at me as he still had his hands covering his eyes.

"Is it Louis? Freddie?" he looked up and I shook my head. "Oh, this is horrible—this is some form of torture and—_OH MY GOD IT'S JAMES_!"

"Shut up!"

"Oh my, God, it is! It is?! Really? You shagged my brother? That's totally gross and wrong and against some kind of friend law! Brilliant, just brilliant, now I'm going to have to murder my brother for knocking you up! This is the worst thing that could have possibly happened, _ever_! This is like—like—like _dark wizard_ level bad!"

"Will you _please _be quiet?" I croaked through a dry throat, slamming my hand over his mouth. "You're going to wake up everyone the damn castle, nitwit!"

"My _brother_?" he mumbled, his voice muffled from my hand. "Seriously? _Seriously?_ That's like me shagging Coco."

Okay, I nearly threw up, and this time not from the baby cooking in my uterus.

"Okay, ew, gross."

"Exactly!"

"I said _be quiet_! Someone might hear you!"

He sent me a withering look. "I think people are going to figure it out when you _have a baby in nine months_."

"Seven, actually."

"SEVEN?!"

"Oh my God, shush!"

"Seven months? You've been pregnant for _two months_? _TWO_?"

"If you don't shut up I'm going to shove my fist down your mouth."

"So—so that means _you're _the girl from Lily's party? Damn, I had a bet going on with Louis that it was Rebecca Stinson!"

"Shut up, you moron."

"I think I'm going to faint. No, seriously, do you have a paper bag on you?"

"Oh, yeah, let me just get it—no of course I don't have a bloody paper bag on me, idiot!"

He raised his eyebrows at me. "_Now_, who's being loud?"

Sometimes, I really hated Albus Potter.

Except, I didn't, I loved him to bits.

I heaved out a long sigh and took a seat on the stairs Albus had previously been sat on. Slowly, he sat at my side and wrapped his arms around my shoulders. "I've really messed up, haven't I?" I questioned softly after a few minutes of silence.

"Utterly and horribly," he replied swiftly. "But it's not all your fault, some of it is James', too. I always knew he would end up getting a girl pregnant, I just never thought it would be, well, you. You've never even liked James, not even when he became Quidditch captain. Actually, to be honest, I thought you were a lesbian. You haven't liked a boy for ages."

I elbowed him in the side and rolled my eyes. "You're so mean, Albus."

"No, I'm wise. You should try it some time."

"See? Meanie."

He laughed and I produced a small grin. "Hey," he said in a softer voice. He nudged the side of my head with his nose and momentarily tightened his grip on my shoulders. "It'll be okay, you know."

I wished I could have believed him.

* * *

**Thank you to everyone that has reviewed, favourited, alerted and read this story, means a lot!**

**Thoughts? Suggestions? **

**-Laylaxx**


	7. Sad people of Hogwarts and Quidditch

**Don't own anything except OC's. **

* * *

Chapter 7.

Saturday rolled around quicker than I would have liked and everyone was on a hype about the Ravenclaw vs. Gryffindor match. Coco jumped on my bed on the morning and started to bounce up and down like a kangaroo on crack. That was until I reminded her that I was pregnant. She jumped off me so fast she landed on her arse on the floor, groaning and withering in pain.

So it was a good start to the day for me, for once.

Coco was still acting surprisingly normal (well, as normal as she can be) since I told her I was pregnant. I was glad for it, mostly because it didn't make other people suspicious, but also a little freaked out. Coco didn't handle new things in her life well, she's always liked things to stay the same since the second time mum left, and I think that my situation hadn't sunk into her yet. I didn't want to see what would happen when she realized that her sister was, in fact, going to be pushing another living person out of _there _in seven months. For now, however, I let her be.

Albus was a totally different story. He kept acting all weird about me. He didn't let me carry my bag anymore, he always got me things and never let me walk for too long. Whenever someone got within two feet of me he would growl—yes, _growl_—at them and demand them to give me space. This, if I was perfectly 100 percent me and not carrying an embryo in my uterus, would have greatly pleased me. However, I wasn't, and people were starting to get curious why he was acting so weird. I even heard a group of girls whispering about how I might be dying, which would have been funny if I wasn't so scared about someone smart figuring out what was really wrong. This school seemed to be full of idiots though, so no one had caught on yet or I would have heard by now. Gossiping spread like wildfire in this place.

Even though I didn't play Quidditch, I loved watching it, especially if it had fits guys in and there was a particularly good range of violence. So even I was a little pumped about the game. Compared to the rest of the Gryffindor's, though, I was considered bored. Around the Gryffindor table were so many people dressed in gold and red I felt sick. A Gryffindor banner had been stuck to the edge of the table with "GO TEAM!" etched on in big, flashing gold and red writing. Freddie Weasley was even dancing on the table while he ate his sandwich.

"It makes me sick," I said as I sat down. "How can people do this?"

"You're just a moody chit," Albus put in and I glared. "People like getting excited about this stuff. It gives them purpose."

"Wow, people are sad."

"Shouldn't you be eating healthier?" Albus eyed my bacon, sausage, egg, tomato sauce and cheese sandwich judgingly. Before I could slap him across the face, he replaced my sandwich with a bowl of porridge.

. . . was he being serious?

"There's no way in hell I'm eating this," I pushed away the bowl with disgust. "It tastes like baby sick."

"How would you know?"

"I just know, okay? And I'm not eating it, give me back my sandwich."

"What about the you-know-what?"

I scowled. "I'll eat some fruit for dessert, now give me it back or I'm stabbing you with my fork."

Reluctantly, he set the food back down in front of me and I growled at him before digging into it. Holy shit, it tasted _good_.

"Hey, bro!" Lily whooped, taking a seat opposite us. "Ready for the match, oh brilliant seeker?"

"I think I'm going to throw up."

"That's the spirit!" Cooper hooted sarcastically.

"Merlin, Callie, you're eating like a wild animal," Rose marvelled—or what I liked to think was marvel, it was more like repulsed.

"I'm 'ungry," I spat through a full mouth.

"How attractive," Scorpius sniggered. I flipped him off which only made him laugh harder.

"MY CAPTAIN!" Freddie screamed from atop the table, his arms flying around in the air. "MY BEAUTIFUL CAPTAIN!"

I looked to see James walking in with Carly at his side. The Gryffindor table broke out into cheers that easily overtook the Ravenclaw's boos.

"Merlin, Freddie, get down from the table!" Carly gasped, though her lips stretched into a wide smile.

"NO WAY, LONGBOTTOM, IT'S AWESOME UP HERE!"

"Freddie, we're literally just here, stop screaming like that," Lily snapped.

"SUCK MY TOE, LILY-FLOWER!"

She stabbed him with her knife instead. Haha.

"OW!"

"Honestly, how am I related to him?" Lily mumbled just before she took another bite of her sausage sandwich.

"Can't pick your family," Rose said rather sadly.

"Don't sound so loving there, Rosie," Louis teased, sitting next to Coco. My identical twin blushed and took a small sip of her pumpkin juice. I stared at her with raised eyebrows and when she caught my eye she scowled, a smirk playing on her lips.

"If you hurt yourself, I'm killing you," James stated to Freddie flatly as he sat. The dark haired boy nodded and continued to do the running man, making everything on the table jiggle slightly. "I'm not losing this match."

Everyone kicked up a conversation about how they were going to win because "Ravenclaw's are broom-up-their-arses know-it-all's" and I stayed silent, trying not to bring attention to myself with James, a.k.a the guy that impregnated me with his stupid, good-looking sperm, so close by. I really needed to get over this—this _thing _that happens when he's around. It's stupid and _girly_. That's just not me.

"TEAM, TO THE PITCH!" Freddie screeched after James announced we needed to head down. Freddie then promptly high-kicked off the table, landed on all fours and then charged out the great hall pretending his broom was his sword.

That boy has issues.

Coco pounded onto Albus' back and he jokingly spun around and pretended to drop her, Rose ran to mess around with Scorpius so I was walking a little behind them, hugging myself to protect my body from the cold breeze. Just as I started to hop down the steps, I felt someone come up beside me.

"Aren't you going to wish me good luck?"

The voice made my knees give my, my body tingle and my heart drop to my feet.

Hoping my expression stayed cool, I cleared my throat. "You always say you don't need good luck, you're just _that _good," I answered smoothly.

Yes! I should get an Oscar for my acting skills!

"Well, it's different coming from you."

Okay, what the bloody hell does that mean?

I turned to him, but he was looking ahead, his eyes fixated on the Quidditch pitch with an excited, far-off look in his eyes. He didn't seem to find his words strange at all, it was like he said this to me before every game he has.

Swallowing thickly, I hugged my coat closer to my skin and tried to keep my strawberry blonde locks from hindering my eyesight. "How so? I'm not a very lucky person."

_As proved by my current situation with a baby cooking inside me. _

"In fact," I said before he could speak again. "I've probably just cursed you or something just by speaking to you. So, if you get knocked out and go into a coma for a year, don't blame me, okay?"

"Go it," he replied with an amused tone. I was being completely serious. "I'll make sure no one blames you for my near-death experiences."

"That's all I ask."

And because I couldn't keep up my cool façade any longer, I sprinted forward and joined Rose's side. She grinned at me and knocked my hip with hers before turning to continue her conversation with Scorpius.

"Hey, Callie."

Oh for the love of God, who wants to talk to me now? I can't take people wanting to talk to me anymore. Why do people like to talk? It's such a waste of breath. I always wished people could have a button on them and when they didn't want to talk to people, they could just disappear. No one would find them and everyone would be happy. However, when I told this to my dad, he said I'd spend my whole life invisible so that was a bad idea. Whatever. I thought I was a bloody genius for coming up with the idea.

"Oh, hello, Lane," I sighed to one of Albus' roommates and friends.

"So, you excited for the game?"

Really? _This _is what he wants to talk about? He could at least have asked me something interesting.

"Immensely," I replied sarcastically. Of course, he didn't pick up on this.

"Me too! I can't wait, we're meant to have a really good team this year."

"Yeah, well, it's the same one we had last year, Bones."

"Oh, yeah, right, of course."

_Deep breaths, Callie, deep breaths._

"Still, we're meant to beat Ravenclaw's arse!"

"Brilliant."

"Though, Gavin said the new chaser on the Ravenclaw team is meant to be amazing. What's his name, Robert Page or something?"

"No idea."

"Rory Page, maybe?"

"Yeah, maybe."

"Ronnie! That's it, Ronnie Page."

"Very interesting."

"Yeah, so maybe we have some competition—"

"What's that, Rose?!" I shouted and Rose turned around. "Oh, yeah, sure. Sorry, Lane, I have to go, Rose needs me."

He looked confused, but nodded and waved anyway so I ran off and to Roses' side near the front of the box.

Scorpius smirked at me when I sat. "What's he talking about?"

"Utter shite."

"The usual, then."

"_HEEEELLLLOOOO, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN OF HOGWARTS_!" Archie Jordan's voice rang out through the pitch and everyone instantly silenced. "_Welcome to the first match of the school year, Ravenclaw verse Gryffindor! Ravenclaw is looking good this year, captained by Tim Davies, who is also a chaser! Ronnie Page and Tony Boot, his fellow chasers! Beaters, Issac Turpin and Marvin Samuels! Keeper, Donald Samson! And seeker, Quinn Belby! However, the Gryffindor team is looking even better—what? Why am I not allowed to say that? This is blasphemy!—sorry, the Gryffindor team, who look just as good as the Ravenclaw's, are captained by chaser, James Potter! Other chasers are, Louis and Fred Weasley! Keeper, Dylan Wood! Seeker, Albus Potter! Also, and if I do say so myself, the hottest beaters pair ever, Lily Potter and Cooper Fairfield! OW!—players are not allowed to throw things at the commentator!"_

Freddie flipped Jordan the bird and snatched his thrown Quaffle back into his arms. Archie rubbed his head, which Freddie had hit with amazing accuracy, and continued on. _"Right, and off we go! Weasley—the blonde one—in possession of the Quaffle, he passes to Potter, the older one, and he zooms—HE SCORES! 10-0 to Gryffindor! Boot with the Quaffle, he passes to Page, Page to Davies, he shoots—SAVED BY DYLAN WOOD! Wow, that was bloody amazing!"_

"_Potter, the older one, has the Quaffle,_" a new voice takes over and I squint to see Archie sat on the benches jumping up and down. Hugo Weasley has down taken over with a bright smile on his face. "_He passes to Weasley, the dark haired one, who passes to the other Weasley, the part veela one, and he flies forward! He passes to Potter, the older one, and he shoots—HE SCORES! 20-0 to Gryffindor! Wait, what the bloody hell? OW! Miss, no hitting me! Cooper Fairfield has knocked Quinn Belby off her broom—oh no, wait she's back on,_" he said, his voice lace with disappointment and the brown haired girl shouted something I couldn't hear at him. "_Wow, I think Belby is PMSing today, guys—ouch! You know, Miss, I really wish you'd stop _hitting me_! Back to the game, Potter, older one, has possession! He passes to blonde Weasley, who passes back to older Potter, who passes to dark haired Weasley—damn, I never realized how many of us there is. Now I know how you all feel. James shoots forward—AND HE SCORED! YES! I KNEW YOU WERE MY FAVOURITE COUSIN!_" there's a collective "hey!" from all members of the Potter-Weasley clan, but Hugo doesn't hear. "_Take that biatch! What you gunna do? Are you gunna cry? Cry like a little girl—" _I see him pause and get shouted at by Miss Roberts, the Astronomy teacher. "_Um, well, sorry about that guys, got a little carried away with the moment."_

This carried on for another hour and a half until Albus finally catch sight of the snitch and chased after it. "_Potter, the younger one, has caught sight of the snitch! Belby rushes after him, they're neck and neck! Wait—ALBUS POTTER CATCHES THE SNITCH! GRYFFINDOR WINS!"_

The whole stand, including me, jumped up and started to cheer and roar with delight. The Gryffindor team landed on the pitch and started to dance around and scream, so we all fought our way down to the pitch. By the time I got down there most of the stand were already celebrating in the middle of the field, but I made a beeline for Albus. I jumped into his arms and beamed at him.

"I'm so proud of you!" I screamed over the cheering crowd.

"What?!"

"I'm proud of you!"

"What?! You peed of you?!"

Sighing, I dragged him into the changing rooms and away from the throng of people. "I said, I'm proud of you, idiot," I grinned once we were in the quietness of the changing rooms.

"Thanks," he beamed, ruffling my windswept hair. "I thought Belby was going to catch up to me for a minute there, but I won! Because I'm the best!"

"How very big headed of you."

He just sent me a cheeky grin. "Even you look like you're enjoying yourself," he said as he gathered up his towel and new clothes to go in the showers with. "Which is an accomplishment in itself, me thinks."

"I got caught up in the moment."

"Suuuurree you did, preggers."

"Don't call me that, moron."

"Why it fits you, right? You're pregnant, therefore your nickname should be preggers."

"No, no, it shouldn't—"

I was going to continue to tell him that it was the most idiotic name ever created in mankind and that he should never repeat it again or I'll knee him in the balls. However, I didn't get to finish my sentence as a small, but bold and slightly scared, deep voice echoed through the changing rooms, cutting me off.

"You're what?"

_Fuck_.

* * *

**Thoughts? Suggestions?**

**Thank you to everyone that is reading, favouriting, alerting and reviewing, means a lot!**

**-Laylax**


	8. Terrible situations, a coward and having

**Don't own anything except OC's.**

* * *

Chapter 8: Terrible situations, a coward and having Albus

Do you ever have moments when you wish you could just turn into a beetle and scurry across the floor and out of sight? I have those moments a lot. Like when I'm in trouble with my Aunt Annie and she gives me the "I'm not angry, but disappointed" face. It eats me up so bad I wish I could just run away. Flies and insects have it so easy, they can hover around as much and for as long as they like and enjoy themselves, then as soon as they've had enough they can jut bugger off.

Humans don't have that luxury. If we're found in a rather sticky and/or _down right terrible_ situation, we have to take it. If we tried to scurry away like a beetle we'd either be stopped, called for the rest of ours lives, or sent to a mental hospital for the very insane people. So humans have to endure the awkward, heart-stopping, soul-crushing, live-altering situations as best we can, which, in my opinion, royally _sucks_.

I whipped around in my seat and my heart momentarily stopped when I saw James Potter stood at the doorway, pale as a ghost and looking like he was about to faint. I attentively registered that there were people behind him, but all I could focus my little energy on was his shocked face.

"What?" Albus asked, trying to play it off cool.

"I—what did you just say?"

"To Callie? I said—I said you're pregnable, therefore you should be called preggy."

Oh my, Merlin. Why is he such a douche? Most importantly, why am I nodding along to that like it's the smartest thing I've ever heard in my life? Great, now he's either going to think I'm pregnant or clinically insane.

I think I prefer clinically insane.

"No," James let out a fake, soft laugh. "No, no, no, no, I know what you said," my insides clenched. "And no way, no way is that true. You're fucking screwing around, aren't you? Trying to freak me out and everything? Congrats, it worked, now fucking _stop_!"

I didn't dare look up from the floor as I backed my way into Albus. Somehow, I felt safer with him near me, I don't know why considering this was his brother and he was probably going to take his side, but I felt like I needed someone with me, and Albus was the only person I trusted right now. I felt Albus large hand rest on the small of my back and I slumped slightly, my head spinning like I had downed a hundred fire-whiskey shots.

"James, man—"

"No, don't! I know that voice! It's your "I'm going to tell you something shitty, but don't freak out on me" voice! Don't use that voice!" James shouted, dropping his broom to the floor, making the clattering noise echoed around the now silent room. I flinched slightly, not daring to look at him for a fear or breaking down or hitting him so hard he landed in Mars.

"What's going on in here?"

Oh, yes, please, more people join!

Lily pushed her way through Louis and Freddie, who were at the front of the people at the doorway, and sent us all confused glances. We all ignored her, though.

"This is some sick joke, right?" James said with a hint of hysteria in his voice. "This is something we'll laugh about in years to come and look at as a fond memory."

Albus and I stayed completely silent, I wasn't even sure if I was breathing by this point.

"No, no, NO!" he howled two minutes later after realizing what our silence meant. "This is pathetic! We did it once, _once_! There is no fucking way in hell that you're pregnant!"

From somewhere in the room, there were a round of collective gasps and I peeked up in shock. Stood near the door were a group of people looking at James and I with shock, confusion and disbelief. My heart dropped even more.

"Well, I am," I blurted hoarsely, which surprised even me, never mind everyone else. The words just slipped out before I could even think.

"But—but—that's—surely, that's not possible," he countered and for the first time I looked at him. He looked shocked and in disbelief, but I also saw that he was scared and angry. I reached up to tuck my hair behind my ears, a nervous habit I had picked up from my Aunt Annie. "We—I've never gotten any other girl pregnant!"

_Well, I must be really fertile. Yey for me!_

Sarcasm was _so _not the way to go right now.

"Well, it is, and I am," I snapped back, my voice stronger than ever. Albus lightly patted my back as if to urge me on and to let me know he was there.

"No way in hell."

"Well, it's happened."

"It can't be mine! Are you sure? Did you, like, I dunno—"

"Fuck someone else," I growled angrily. "I'm not a whore James! I _didn't shag anyone else_! _It's yours_!"

"Are you sure—"

"YES!"

"IT'S CAN'T BE!"

"WELL, IT IS!"

"I DON'T FUCKING WANT IT!"

Everything froze for a second, then my world came crashing down around me. The walls of the changing rooms seemed to close in around me, getting closer and closer and closer until they were an inch from crushing me. I couldn't breath, I couldn't think, I couldn't speak.

I didn't know why I was so surprised, I had always thought this was going to be the outcome. With all the times I had run this scene through my head, 90 percent of the time this was the outcome. James wouldn't want it and I'd be stuck in a never ending cycle of utter shit. However, there was still ten percent that though he might just want it. Well, not want the baby, but at least try to stick by me through this. Knowing that in real life, not just some life I had made up in my head, he didn't want to support me, to take responsibility for his actions . . . it was overwhelming. I wanted to curl into a ball and cry my heart out until the cows came home.

"What?" I blanched dumbly.

"James, man—" Albus started to say, taking a step forward. Just as he did though, he looked back at me and then took his place behind me, his lips sealed shut. I could tell he was fighting with himself, his best friend of his brother? Honestly, I knew which one I would choose if it was Coco, but I didn't want to think about the prospect of Albus taking James' side.

"I _don't want it_," he repeated boldly. Everyone who was stood near the doors gasped and turned their heads to me waiting for my response. It was like a tennis match and they were watching the players whack the ball from court to court, except this was a ball of words—of _life_.

"Well, what the fuck am I meant to do then?" I replied nastily, trying my hardest to not let myself break. I wasn't going to show him weakness, he didn't deserve it. "I'm knocked up with a coward's child!"

"Whatever," he replied flippantly. "I don't care what you do. Give it away, get rid of it now, _I don't care_."

"What? You want to _get rid of it? It's a fucking human being, Potter_!"

"_And I don't want it_!" he recoiled harshly. "So do whatever the fuck you want with it, I don't care."

"You know, you're a bastard, James," this time it wasn't me speaking. I turned to Albus with shock and held back from going over and killing James. "When I hear people calling you and being horrible, I usually stick up for you. I always say "he's not a bad guy when you get to know him", well, you're fucking proving me wrong, aren't you? Seriously, you're going to leave her when _you _were the one that did this to her in the first place? What the hell would mum and dad think about their precious little James being such a heartless coward?" he paused, letting the words sink in, but James only glared at his brother. "You're a—I can't—so much for being a Gryffindor, James," Albus finished with a shake of his head.

James opened his mouth to reply, but then snapped his mouth shut and glared at us both with hate. With swift movements, he bent down, picked up his broom and pushed through the mess of people by the doorway. Once I heard the changing room door slam shut, I broke. My knees buckled and weren't strong enough to hold my weight up anymore, my heart started to throb against my ribcage, and earth-shattering sobs overtook my body.

I couldn't believe he'd left.

Not only me, but _his child_.

"T-t-take m-m-me a-a-away," I gasped through sobs. Albus nodded and I was swept off my feet and onto his back, crying into his shoulder as he pushed through the people near the door and ran up the stairs and through the castle. I could hear the cheering of people when we entered the Gryffindor common room, but didn't look up to see them and everyone was so preoccupied with having fun no one noticed us, which I would be eternally grateful for.

I was gently placed onto a bed and I instinctively wrapped my arms around my knees so I could sob into them.

"I'm sorry, Callie," Albus whispered as if he were afraid I would crack if he spoke louder. I hated that. That was why I never showed weakness in front of people, they treat you like glass, and I hate glass. "I didn't think he would act like that—that, that in there, it wasn't my brother, it was his anger talking."

I didn't make any indication of me hearing him, but he knew I had. I felt him sit next to me and then his arms wrapped around me in a vice-like grip and his chin was resting on my head.

"Don't cry, I don't like it when you cry," he whispered into my hair. "Please?"

I tried to slow them down, but, alas, it didn't work. Nothing I did worked these days.

"My brother sucks right now," he muttered as he lifted my head and wiped away my rush of tears.

"Life sucks right now," I whispered back.

"Don't say that," he sighed. "Merlin, you're depressing."

Despite everything, I snorted. "Aren't I always?"

"True, but right now you're borderline psycho depressing, before you were just funny depressing."

I closed my eyes for a minute and savoured the peaceful silence. Even then, the harsh, empty feeling didn't go away. "What am I going to do?" I blubbered, tears welling up in my eyes again. Damn pregnancy hormones. "I have nothing now."

"Yes you do, you have me."

A small, pathetic smile itched onto my lips. "Thanks, by the way. You didn't have to stick up for me."

Even to myself I didn't sound truthful.

"Yes I did, like I said, you're my best friend, Callie, and no one bad talks my best friend, not even my brother," he cleared his throat as his voice cracked at the word "brother". "And, also, you have Coco . . . although, I have no idea if that's a good or a bad thing."

"She provides crazy happiness in my life."

"Well, that's always a plus." There was a long paused, then. "You're not alone, you know, so stop looking like a lost puppy. I'm going to be here every step of the way, I don't care if James isn't. If he isn't going to stand up to his responsibilities then it's his loss. I'm sticking with you and the baby."

And just like that, my world brightened.

"Thanks. It means a lot."

By my eyes, he knew just how much a lot was.

"Callie!" a voice eerily similar to my own screamed out. Coco burst through the door with a frantic look on her fact, but in her haste she tripped, fell flat on her face, then simply picked herself back up again. She pounced onto the bed like a tiger and looked at me with wide, light blue eyes. "Louis told me what happened with James! Are you okay? You want me to kick his arse? I can't believe he did that! Who thought he would do that? I certainly didn't!"

"Stop talking," I said, my voice thick. "Like you're on crack," I finished after clearing my throat.

"Sorry," she apologized instantly. "Sorry, but Louis explained to me and, Merlin, I never thought James would do that! The bastard," she paused and the smiled at me with an evil glint in her eyes. "You've _totally _freaked everyone out though. Louis was almost hyperventilating when I talked to him and Freddie was laid on the floor and kept saying "it's all a dream, it's all dream". It was actually funny. Lily is _mad _though. She's practically hunting James and muttering stuff about him learning to keep his balls to himself or she's going to chop them off."

I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"Does anyone else know?" I found myself asking worriedly. "Who else knows?"

"Erm, just the Potter-Weasley clan, really—oh, and Carly, Dylan and Derrick. And Cooper. And Ethan. And Birdie."

Merlin, this day just keeps getting worse and worse by the second.

Feeling worse than ever, I lied down onto Albus' bed and stared up to the ceiling with blank eyes. People _knew_ about the baby. That meant the secret was even more in danger than ever before and the whole school was closer to knowing, meaning so was my brother, meaning so was my dad, meaning I was surely going to be murdered and/or disowned within the next week.

I thought about everything from James storming out of the changing rooms to the possibility that my dad could find out at any point, but came up with nothing but fear and angriness. Soon, I passed out from exhaustion.

* * *

**Thoughts? **

**Damn, that was intense, right? Are you angry? Surprised? Or did you see it coming?**

**I know this is pretty random, but does anyone do and/or know anyone who makes a banner for stories? I really need one for this.**

**Thanks, **

**-Laylaxx**


	9. Shouting best friends, weird kitchen vis

**Don't own anything except OC's**

* * *

Chapter 9. Shouting best friends, weird kitchen visits and leaving

I was awoken the next day by a loud bang. I shot up from the bed and rubbed my sore eyes as light almost blinded me. Just as my vision become un-blurry, I saw a very tired and frazzled Coco stumbling up to the door and then she yanked it open.

"Hey, oh, Merlin, I'm so sorry about James!" a voice screamed and I watched as Coco was scooped into a large hug by Dom Weasley.

I heard someone snort next to me and turned, seeing Albus with messier hair than usual and tired, half-open eyes. He turned to me and sent me a lazy grin, his eyes sparkling. "Let's see how long it takes for them to figure out that's Coco," he said, his voice laced with grogginess.

Silently, I watched Carly Longbottom join the hug and Coco squealed, kicking her legs wildly in protest. "I'll make sure he comes back, then I'll hurt him, badly," Carly promised to Coco.

I blinked, contemplating whether to feel guilty about her being hugged and not me, or happy. I decided to go for happy. That was spoilt however as a very angry Rose Weasley came storming into the room, she took one look at Coco and her eyebrows scrunched together in confusion until she caught sight of me on the bed. "CALLIOPE DENISON!"

I winced.

"HOW COULD YOU NOT TELL ME?!" Rose screeched, her voice booming through the room at a deafening volume. "I can't believe you! We're best friends and you don't even tell me _you're pregnant_?! I don't know whether to hug you or slap you!"

"Go for hug, please, go for hug," I replied instantly.

She glared.

"Oh, _you're _Callie," Dom said slowly, looking from me to Coco, who she was currently squishing. "Well, that's awkward," she coughed, letting go of a disgruntled Coco.

"Wow, you really do look alike," Carly murmured.

Well, _no duh_!

"And with my _cousins _baby," Rose continued as if no one had said anything. "This has got to be some type of rule break. And _you_," she zoned in on Albus and I leaned back to make sure I was out the fire line. "Didn't tell me! You little piece of shit! I can't hex her, but I can hex you!"

I'm pretty sure Albus wet his pants.

"Sorry, Rose, it's my fault, I didn't want anyone to know yet," I said softly. She continued to glare. "But you know now, right? That's . . . cool?"

"Honestly, Callie, you're awful at lying."

I thought I was good, actually.

"I'm sorry about yesterday," Dom interrupted, shoving Rose out the way and jumping gracefully onto my bed. "James has . . . issues. He's sure to come back, though. He just needs to cool down first."

"Yeah, he's probably just needs a game of Quidditch and then he'll be fine," Carly added on positively. "Well, not fine, per say, I mean he's going to be a _dad_, but you know what I mean."

"I bet he's in his dorm right down going over how to apologize to you."

What a bunch of bullshit.

If yesterday was anything to go by, James was never coming back. In fact, I bet he's already packing up to move to Australia and live in the woods with the kangaroos and koala bears. Not that I can blame him, koala bears are extraordinarily cute. Back to the point, however, James wasn't going to calm down any time soon.

For some reason, that made me feel depressed, which made me feel angry, and then that made me feel stupid. What the hell did I expect? For him to beam happily, declare his undying love for me and ask me to marry him so we can live long, happy lives together with the kid? Also, did I _want _that to happen? Did I want him to want me?

Fuck, this is confusing.

"You really need to stop spacing out like that," Albus told me once I came back down to earth.

"I'm _thinking_."

"That's new."

I sent him a withering look.

"Do you feel like going down for lunch?" Coco yawned gigantically, stretching her arms and back so a load of her bones loudly clicked. She grinned in pleasure once she was done and looked at me expectantly.

"Truthfully? I want to crawl into a cave and never surface again."

"I'll take that as a no, then."

"How about we go to the kitchen?" Carly suggested brightly. Was she always so happy? "The house elves won't mind, we go down there all the time."

"Why are they here?" I asked curiously as Carly and Dom skipped in front of us laughing and joking like five-year-olds.

"Don't know," Albus shrugged nonchalantly. "They probably feel bad for what James said yesterday and are trying to make up for it or something. Or maybe they're just being nosy buggers and want to get to know the girl James knocked up."

"You make it sound so sweet," I replied with a small, fake laugh.

"I still can't believe you didn't tell me," Rose stormed, bumping my shoulder with her fist. "You seriously told _Albus _before you told me?"

"Hey! I'm a very trustworthy person!"

"Also, did you seriously need to shag my cousin? That's wrong on _so _many levels, you bint. It's like me having sex with, like, Coco!"

Why do people keep having imaginary sex with Coco?

"How is it like that in any way, shape, or form?"

"It just is, okay?!" Rose snapped at Albus and I snorted. "I can't believe this. Any of it. It's weird that you _did it _with James in the first place, and now you're—you're—you're," she leaned in so close she was nearly biting my ear. "_Up the duff_?!"

I cringed away from her and scowled. "Well, it hasn't exactly been all rainbows and bunnies for me, either, Rose. Plus, I would just like to put in, I was _drunk_, _very drunk_. If I had been sober, I would not have done any of it, therefore blame the alcohol, not me."

"Yes, but you were the one that put the alcohol into your system, therefore, it was actually _your _fault."

I thought about this for a moment. "Rose, have I ever told you that you annoy the shit out of me?"

"Many times."

"Okay, good, just making sure."

Dom and Carly were already around the table chatting when the rest of us arrived. Rose was still grumbling about me and James, but I blissfully pretended I couldn't hear her and asked one the freaky house elves for a bacon sandwich. I could feel Dom and Carly glancing at me every few seconds and then continuing joining in the conversation Al, Rose, Coco and I were having about the outcome of a centaur and a mermaid having a baby. There was a strange, sizzling tension around the table that no one mentioned, but we were all aware of.

My tension, well, my tension was my life. I knew Albus was worrying about James, which was probably what Dom and Carly were silently freaking out about, too. Rose was still having severe mental freak outs about James and I shagging, and I'm pretty sure Coco was going ballistic about me being pregnant, that everything was going to change.

I silently strolled back to the common room a little off to the right of everyone else as they chatted and laughed. No matter how much I tried, I couldn't stop thinking about last night. One part of me thought it was just a fluke, like Dom and Carly said, James was really angry at the time and he could have just spat it out without thinking. James, after all, was known for his quick-fired temper. Something everyone knew about James was that he was a true Gryffindor. Brave, bright, courageous and loyal. So if he had all those qualities, surely he wouldn't leave, right? If there was anyone to be loyal too, it was your child. So he couldn't possibly leave.

And yet, lurking at the back of my mind, I felt nervous and almost scared. He had been so angry, so . . . _hateful_. He wouldn't have said something he didn't mean, and he straight out told me that he didn't want the kid. Had he been telling the truth? Was he really going to act as if there was nothing different in his life? I couldn't even _think_ about carrying this baby around for another seven months while watching James laugh and joke like nothing had changed in his life.

He was at least going to acknowledge his mistake, right? I hadn't even thought about what I was going to do with the baby. I had been so worried about people, most pacifically James, finding out about everything that I hadn't given much thought to anything else. Honestly, right now, adoption seemed like a damn attractive choice. I couldn't have an abortion, for my own, personal issues, but I couldn't look after the baby either. Giving the baby to someone who desperately wanted a child? That seemed honourable to me.

I was so deep in thought about everything I tripped over the staircase. Albus leaned down just in time to catch me, laughing boldly as he put me back onto my feet. I jokingly thwacked him in the chest, and then continued to bounce up the stairs until I got into the Gryffindor common room.

"_What_?!"

The common room was empty, everyone was still at lunch by this point, except for the people I had just been with a group of guys sat near the fire. On closer inspection, I realized it was James' friends, Louis, Freddie, Dylan, Derrick and Ethan, and Dom has just been the one shouting.

"Seriously?!" Carly screamed shrilly.

Albus and I shared confused glances before we took a step forward to join the group. I was so past caring at this point, I didn't care when Freddie awkwardly cleared his throat and looked into the fire when he noticed me.

"What's going on?" Albus asked, cutting off whatever Louis was about to say. The blonde guy looked at Al, then at me and cringed, running a hand through his thick hair.

"Al, Callie, listen we have to tell you something," Louis uncomfortably shifted on his feet. By this point Dom was crying and Carly was trying to comfort her, my heart stopped.

"_He left_!"

I whipped around to see Coco was the one that shouted, her eyes were blazing and she looked about ready to strangle someone.

"What?" Al said blankly.

"James, he left," Dylan put in softly.

My stomach churned and my head started to pound. He'd left? Just like that?

"What the fuck do you mean he left?" Al spat in a dangerous, low voice. If I had been in any right state of mind, I would have been shocked, Al _never _used that voice. The last time he had was when he was warning the sixth years to back off when we found them hexing Scorpius near the Potions rooms.

"Well, he didn't come back last night after, you know, he stormed out," Ethan recalled. "He only came back, like, an hour ago."

"He said he'd slept in the Room of Requirement. That was all he said before he got out his truck and started to pack," Derrick continued, his voice laced with shock and worry.

"We asked him where he was going but he just said he needed to get away," Freddie sighed, rubbing his face with his hands. "Then Dylan and I tried to stop him, we even hexed him to try and get him to stay, but he easily deflected it. So he threw a smoke bomb and when the smoke was thin enough to see through, he was gone."

"That—" Coco stopped herself and decided to punch the wall instead. I watched her with a strange numbness wavering through my body. I knew I should have been kicking shit right about now, cursing James into hell, and throwing punches at anyone who would let me, but I felt _nothing_. I didn't feel sad, scared, stupid—nothing. I stayed frozen for a moment and waited for the onslaught of emotions, but two minutes passed and nothing had happened.

He was gone, he'd run away like a pathetic coward and I couldn't find it in myself to care about him. I didn't care if he fell down a hole and rotted away, I didn't care if he moved to Australia and started a new life under a new identity and running with the koala's, I didn't care if all he'd done was run crying to his parents. He was weak, useless—just like my mother.

"Callie?"

I looked away from the window and come eye-to-eye with Albus. He was staring at me worriedly and cautiously, almost as if I was a bomb that was going to explode at any second.

"Hmm?" I whispered.

"You okay?"

"Dandy."

His right eyebrow jerked up so far it almost disappeared into his hairline. Slowly, I peeked around the Gryffindor common room and caught sight of some people coming back from dinner. They looked to be in around second year and we're so busy laughing with each other they paid us no attention. On the couch, Dom was still sobbing into Carly's shoulder and the brown haired girl was trying to comfort her, though she looked devastated herself. Freddie, Dylan and Ethan were glancing around the room so uncomfortably even I wished they could leave, and Louis and Derrick looked from Dom and Carly, to Albus, to Coco, to me with an unreadable expression.

I couldn't bring myself to look at anyone else and instead silently turned around and jogged up to my dormitory. No one followed me.

* * *

**Thoughts? Suggestions?**

**Thanks to everyone who is reading, especially those who review, favourite and alert! **

**-Laylax**


	10. Spinning out of control, masks and stran

**Don't own anything except OC's. **

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Chapter 10. Spinning out of control, masks and strange sisters.

I awoke the next morning just as the sun was rising outside our dorm windows. I tossed and turned for the next half an hour before deciding I couldn't get back to sleep. Instead, I dug through my bedside table draws and started to read _The Tales of Beedle and the Bard_. It was a children's book and I shouldn't really still have it, but I couldn't bring myself to throw it away. First, because it had been passed down to me and Coco from our grandparents before we were born, and second I could remember my mum reading it to me at night and it was one of the only good memories I had of her.

Cautious not to wake any of my roommates, I flipped the worn pages of the book without really reading a word. I thought of how many times the book had been used when Coco and I were younger, when Bruce was only a kid and begged for me to read it to him, how Sage made me read it to her on a night when I was home from Hogwarts. The way that if you turned it to page 67 there was a large stain in the right hand corner from when my mother spilt her perfume when I was only ten-years-old, and if you sniffed really hard, you could still smell it. I felt my heart contact when I thought about reading this book to my children—maybe the one that was currently growing inside me. But then I remembered everything that had happened and just what situation I was in, and that image swiftly disappeared.

My life was spiralling out of control and I was just holding on by a small, thin thread.

Sixteen and pregnant, no money or job, still in school and have no qualifications, have _no idea_ how to bring up a baby, and to top it all off, the father walked out on me. My real life sounded life something from a really awful, cliché sitcom from the mid 60's that my Nana loves to watch. I always hated those bloody sitcoms.

I stayed lying on my bed until I heard the shuffling of Megan and Linda, who were always up the earliest, down the bottom of the room. When I knew someone was up, I swung my legs over to the side of the bed and disappeared into the bathroom to take a shower. Linda and Megan raised their eyebrows and gave each other a "what the hell" look, but I ignored them.

I dressed in the shower as quick as I could and opened the door just as Megan started to scream that she needed a piss. She was dancing, or hopping, along the floor outside like a deranged rabbit, singing, "Holy shit, I need a piss," under her breath. I would have laughed and started to make water noises if I didn't feel like complete shit.

I avoided eye contact with Rose and Coco, though I could feel them watching me. Slowly, I started to sort out my school bag for the day, feeling their eyes burning into my back like lasers.

"Morning." Coco said softly, looking like she wanted to say so much more, but just couldn't find the words.

Rose caught onto Coco's game and smiled at me. "Good sleep?"

"Fantastic."

They both flinched at my harsh tone and Coco dashed off to the bathroom. I felt guilty, but I couldn't bring myself to care. For the first time in a long time, we got ready in awkward silence. I hated it. Rose, Coco and I _never _had awkward silences. Whenever we ran out of things to say Coco would bring up something about the new fashion range, or Rose would spew stupid shit about History of Magic out of her mouth. The only awkward silence's we had together was when we first met and were all so uncomfortable and gangly we just didn't know what to say.

My heart started to shudder as we walked down to breakfast together. Coco and Rose stayed a little behind frantically whispering to each other and I pretended I had no idea. When we got to the Great Hall it was, as always, packed to the brim with students, including James' friends, who all stared at me as I slid past them and sat next to Albus. He simply rested his arm across my shoulders and carried on his conversation with Scorpius. I loved him for that.

We went off to lessons fifteen minutes later, I kept my head down and just silently went throughout my day. No one battered an eyelid at me, it wasn't unusual for me to be quiet all day, though the people who really knew what was going on were staring at me with sympathetic eyes.

After lunch Albus and I were sat in Charms when my stomach churned dangerously. Swallowing, I tried to keep it down, but to no avail, I could feel my lunch slowly creeping up my throat.

"Al," I hissed desperately. The pencil he was balancing on his upper lip clattered to the table as he whipped around to look at me in shock. I hadn't spoken a word all day, not even to him. "I'm going to be sick."

"What? Seriously?"

"No, I'm taking the piss. Yes, seriously. I'm going to up chuck all over this table in about five seconds."

Albus' eyes widened like saucers and he pounced to his feet. "SIR!" Professor Flitwick squealed and whipped around, his glasses askew. "Callie needs to go to the bathroom."

"Mr. Potter, please sit—"

"_Five._"

"Sir, seriously, she's going to be sick—"

"Please, Mr. Potter I'm sure she can hold it in—"

"_Four_."

"Sir, you don't understand, she's in bad condition."

"Honestly, Potter, is she bleeding?"

"No, but—"

"_Three_."

"Is she in a life or death situation?"

"No, but, Sir—"

"_Two._"

"Therefore, you need to sit down—"

"But, Sir, _she's on her period_!"

Oh dear Merlin, why did you give me friends like this? I've never done anything particularly wrong in life, and you let James Potter knock me up, the least you could have done was give me normal friends.

"Oh!" Flitwick squeaked, his little face turning a bright, tomato red. "Go, then."

I didn't have to time to take in the disgusted, embarrassed and amused faces of my classmates, I was too busy focusing on not throwing up in the classroom. Though, I would have liked to throw up on Rose's head again, it would have given me a laugh.

I made it just in time to throw up my guts into the ladies toilet. Once I'd stopped, I fell back against the stall of the toilet and watched as Albus came into the small space, looked down the toilet, grimaced and turned a weird shade of green, then flushed it and sat down opposite me.

"She's on her period?" I croaked, "you couldn't have came up with something better?"

"I was under pressure," Albus flushed red. "You were counting, I was desperate, Sir was saying no, I got confused! It was the only thing I could think of."

A small laugh breathed from my lips. "Honestly, Al, you're a douche sometimes."

He laughed softly and shrugged in a "what can you do?" kind of way.

"So," he paused, eyeing me. "How're you feeling?"

"Great."

He rolled his eyes. "Really, Callie? There's only me here, you don't have to wear your stupid mask."

I massaged the back of my neck uncomfortably and glanced up at him through my eyelashes. Albus was the only person that could read me. Coco could, when she _really _looked at me, but she was always smiling and laughing too much to pay a lot of attention to the things around her. I loved that about her, that she could always be so happy without even trying. Albus, however, was observant about the things around him, he saw past people's smiles and laughter and frowns. He knew when Rose was PMSing and always warned me not to get on the wrong side of her, he knew when James was feeling down about himself and always went off to have a talk with him. I always remember James coming back with a large smile on his face. Albus knew when Scorpius was feeling shit, and they always went off to play one-on-one Quidditch.

Albus was just one of those people who loved helping others. I always wondered who looked after him when he was down.

"Shit," I replied, letting my head fall back against the stall. I blinked away my tears and sighed. "Complete shit. I was thinking about how I have to tell my dad and Aunt Annie about being pregnant and all. And then I was thinking about how I have to tell my dad that James has walked away, it's going to _crush _him. My grandparents are going to be so disappointed. Not to mention my Aunts, Uncles and cousins. Shit, I have to tell _everyone_. Even your family."

Albus blew up his cheeks and puffed out a long breath. "That'll be fun. I can imagine my mum's happiness now," he snorted humourlessly. "She's going to go fucking mental with James when she finds out. She always said he was going to get a girl pregnant one day, now look what's happened." He nodded to my stomach. "Not only has he knocked someone up, but she happens to be my best friend."

"You're mum loves me, too."

"One of the few."

I kicked him in the shin.

"OW! Absolutely no need for that, Callie Denison," he mock glared. "Yes, she has expressed her like for you a couple of time, but I think she thinks your Coco or something. You know what she said? "I like her humour". You have no humour."

"I have plenty of humour."

"What, like pushing people down the stairs?"

"That was _twice_, and it was hilarious both times."

"Yeah, for you."

I smirked lightly and a small snort escaped my nose. Albus had been on the receiving end of both those times, the first one was when Rose was really angry at him and told me she would give me ten galleons, the second time was just to hear his girly screams as he fell.

By the time we had left the bathroom last break was nearly ending. Albus and I collected out bags, avoided a very awkward and embarrassed Professor Flitwick, and headed off to our next lesson.

"Hey, you okay?" Rose hissed, leaning over to our table with a worried expression.

"Fine." I replied with a fake smile. She nodded and leaned back into her chair, her face hard as she listened to the lecture.

After lessons I collapsed onto the couch in the common room and stared up at the ceiling as my Gryffindor friends gathered around me, opening up their books to finish off some homework we had gotten. I tried to do some, but my mind just shot blanks and I ended up making no sense when I wrote things down. After twenty minutes of staring at the lines of a blank piece of paper, I threw my stuff onto the floor and sighed, running my fingers through the roots of my hair.

"Hey."

The couch jerked and I looked up just in time to see Lily Potter jumping onto the seat beside me. "Um, hello?"

"So, James knocked you up, eh?"

"Lily—" Albus said warningly.

"What?" the beautiful redhead asked innocently. "I haven't even done anything," she snapped. "Anyway, how're you feeling? Don't worry about James, when I get my hands on him he'll be so messed up you won't even want him to be around."

"Honestly, Lily—"

"He can be an idiot," Lily carried on smoothly. "And he acts more in the moment than actually thinking about things. That makes him seem like an arsehole, but he's really not."

"We don't think," Cooper added in cheekily. Lily sent her a mocking glare. "But Lily's shitting her pants excited about becoming an Aunt."

"It'll be so much fun," Lily beamed brightly, clapping her hands together. "I'll teach it how to burp the alphabet, and how to click all your toes, and how to tie a cherry with its tongue, and how to be the best beater in the school, and—"

"Breathe, Lils."

Lily made a strange croaking sound. "I am breathing, or I wouldn't be alive, Cooper."

The blonde winked.

"Ignore her," Lily waved her right hand in Cooper's general direction. "She'll corrupt your mind, why do you think I'm so crazy?"

"Hurtful."

"Anyway, we have detention, but we'll talk later, yeah?"

I didn't have time to answer before she flounced out the portrait hole, laughing and making wild hand gestures to Cooper.

I turned to Albus with a dumbfounded expression. "Is she always like that?"

"Always. It's scary, really."

What had I gotten myself into?

With that thought in mind, I picked up my homework again, maybe now I had a break I could start.

I stared at the paper for fifteen minutes without anything but food coming to mind.

Damn.

* * *

**Thoughts?**

**This chapter if kind of a filler because I didn't think you'd all just want me to skip the day after James left. The next chapter has a bit of drama in though ;) And then it's Christmas time! That should be a few fun chapters.**

**-Laylax**


	11. Letters, scary Ginny and oblivious frien

**Don't own anything except OC's.**

* * *

Chapter 11. Letters, scary Ginny and oblivious friends

A few days later I was sat at the Gryffindor table eating breakfast when the mail swooped into the great hall. Of course, Lionel crashing into the door, flew around like he'd snorted a bag of crack for a couple of minutes before actually delivering the letter to us. Coco went to grab the letter first, but shocked Lionel and he bit her hand. Coco screamed, tears springing into her light blue eyes as she spat insults at the bird, earning many concerned, amused looks from surrounding people.

Rolling my eyes, I pulled on Lionel's feathers so he squawked and dropped the letter onto the table.

_Dear my wonderful children._

_If you couldn't tell, the above statement was thoroughly sarcastic. WHY HAVEN'T YOU WRITTEN MORE?!_

_Sage is getting agitated because she hasn't heard from you guys for more than two weeks. She keeps calling you all poopy heads, which in her mind is the worst insult _ever_. I have to say, I agree._

_Bruce, if you're the one reading this, are you a complete moron, or are you just a little bit stupid? I told you before and I'll tell you again, _do not call Professor Flitwick a sexy little beast!_ He gets very angry and he's already sent me a letter threatening expulsion. If you're going to call him that, do it where he can't hear, not right in front of his face. If it's one of the twins, please smack your brother over the head . . . repeatedly. It might knock some sense into him. _

_You're Aunt Annie says don't forget anything when you come home. We don't want a repeat of last year when Coco had a hissy fit because she left her favourite Christmas sweater, do we? Also, remember to buy gifts this year, do not just pop to the corner shop and buy the cheapest things again. It was funny once, not twice._

_Love you all, _

_Dad xxx_

I felt like crying when I got to the end (I always felt like crying these days). Usually, I wrote to my dad at least twice a week, but this year I'd felt so guilty I'd only wrote around once a fortnight. Coco just added what she wanted to say on the end of my letter, so she hadn't written much either. And Bruce was, well, _Bruce_, so he never wrote.

I passed the letter to Coco, watching her face split into a wide smile as she read the words. She passed the letter down to Bruce afterwards and I watched him pass it to his friends, giggling and whispering to each other.

Just as I pushed away my plate, I felt someone sit down next to me and a letter was shoved in Albus' face. Freddie Weasley was the person to interrupt our group and I tried to hide my surprise. James' friends hadn't been talking to any of us at all. Whenever one of us walked down the hallway, they would look away and look extremely uncomfortable. Dom and Carly only sent us small smiles and then usually went running off down the opposite way to which we were walking. I didn't really know any of them well, so I didn't know what was going on with them.

Silently, I watched as Albus read the letter Freddie had shoved at him, his face scrunching up in confusion, then anger, then disgust.

"So, what, he lied to them, then?"

Freddie nodded. "Obviously. Do you think we should send them a letter back and tell them the truth?"

"Well, we're gunna have to, aren't we? We can't just lie to them. There going to be a kid in six months, for Merlin's sake."

As soon as I knew it was definitely about me, I snatched the letter from his hand and scanned over the words.

_Dear James' friends, and Louis and Freddie._

_I know you all know that James isn't at school recently, but we were wondering why. James sent us a letter yesterday saying he needs a break from school because everything was getting on top of him. This doesn't surprise us (James was never one for academics), but he also said he's leaving his captaincy over to Dylan, which is very strange._

_We were wondering if something else was going on with him? I don't really question it, James never wanted to finish his seventh year, but Ginny reckons there's something more wrong with him. So has anything changed? Has something happened to him?_

_Love, Harry._

Would it be inappropriate to rip up the letter?

Fuming, I flew to my feet and stormed out the great hall. _He _needed a break? Things were getting too much for _him_? If he was in front of me right now, I would have killed him without a second thought.

I couldn't believe he had said school was getting too much for him and then completely bolted. That left me and Albus to tell _his _parents about _his _mistake. Albus was already doing too much for him, why did he have to do that, too? James should have been the one worried about telling his parents. James should have been the one supporting me. James should have been the one asking if me and the baby were okay. James should have been carrying my bag for me. James should have been the one telling me my dad wouldn't disown and/or leave me.

Angry, I kicked the wall as hard as I could, then fell to the floor in pain. Fuck, that hurt. Why the bloody hell did I think _that _was a good idea?!

"Callie?!"

"Here!" I called back tearfully.

Albus ran around the corner, looked at me current state and laughed. _Laughed_. Dickhead. "What the hell are you doing, moron?"

"I think I've broke my foot."

"How?"

"I kicked the wall."

"Why did you—never mind. Here." He held out his hand and I gratefully took it, wincing when my foot throbbed a little. Merlin, I'm truly stupid.

"I can't believe he didn't even tell them why he really left," Rose screamed, walking around the corner with Coco. "Seriously? Is he that much of a coward!"

"Are you sure he's a Gryffindor?"

Rose sent Coco a withering look. "_That's _what you're thinking about right now?"

Coco shrugged.

"Do you think we should tell them, then?" Freddie asked, appearing from nowhere. I blinked rapidly as Louis, Dom and Carly popped up in the corner.

"Yeah, of course—"

"Maybe we should wait," Dom interrupted Albus scoff. "They'd be proper pissed if we tell them their eldest son had knocked someone up over a letter."

_Charming._

"I think they're going to be _proper pissed _either way, to be honest," Louis put in, chuckling.

"I know that. I just mean Aunt Ginny always likes to hear things in person, right? We only have to wait a week before we go home, surely we can wait that long."

"But if we tell her in person she can hit us."

Carly snorted at Freddie's outraged statement. "I think she's more likely to hit us if we tell her over a letter."

"What the hell are we meant to write? _Hey, Aunt Gin, sorry to break it to you but James, your eldest son, has knocked someone up and then ran for the hills. _Don't you think that's a little much to tell someone over a letter?" Rose added disbelievingly.

I stayed silent, watching as the large family bickered over how to tell them. I had no idea what to say or advise. The only time I saw and talked to Ginny was when I went to visit Albus. I didn't know her very well, but from the things Albus had told me I knew she had a wild temper, was fiercely protective of her family and friends, and had been in love with Harry Potter since she was a child. That wasn't enough to tell her family what to do, even though I thought they should tell her straight away.

"SHUT UP!" Rose screeched at a deafening volume. "The most important question, who's going to tell her?"

This quietened them all.

They all looked to each other with fear and expectancy written on their faces. Suddenly, they all pointed to each other and then another argument broke out between them.

"No way am I telling her, she'll hit me. Again."

"No. Just no."

"Do you know she bites?!"

"I think Dom should tell her!"

"Bitch, I will cut you."

In the end, after many, _many_ fights and shouts, the clan ended up running to the kitchens for straws and whoever chose the shortest one had to tell Ginny. Tapping my foot, I noiselessly watched them, occasionally rolling my eyes and sighing when someone screamed or shouted. I felt like hexing them all, but in the end I knew they were doing me a favour. Apparently, telling Ginny her eldest had knocked someone up had dangerous consequences, not only for James, but for the person that told her. I sure as hell didn't want to tell her, so I watched on trying to make myself look like I thought this whole thing was a good idea.

"NOOOOO! I DEMAND A REMATCH!"

Looks like Albus drew the short straw.

Dom waved her extra long straw in Al's face and then went off skipping down the hall with Carly by her side. They slipped into the darkness, followed by a laughing Louis and a grinning Freddie.

"Arseholes."

"I'll do it with you, Al," Rose offered sympathetically. Al snorted and threw his straw onto the floor.

"Thanks. I'll need protection."

Scorpius came rushing around the corner then, a sausage half hanging out of his mouth and he was panting slightly.

"Hey, guys." He greeted casually.

We ignored him.

"So how are you going to tell them?" Coco questioned, nervously twirling her hair. "Just outright say it? Because we're trying to figure out how to tell our dad."

"I might just be like, hey, mum, dad, you're going to be grandparents! Yey!"

"I get an image of Uncle Harry fainting."

"Or having a stroke of some sort."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Scorpius yelled, having swallowed his sausage. He held up his hands and looked at us all accusingly. "Al, who've you knocked up?"

We all sent him blank looks.

"Well, is she hot?" Scorpius continued.

"Dude, Callie's pregnant."

Scorpius' eyes widened. "YOU KNOCKED UP, _CALLIE_?!"

"Why do people always assume that?" I whispered.

"No," Albus cried loudly. "James did. For fucks sake, where the hell have you been the past month?!"

"Cleary not here!" Scorpius shrieked, jumping up and down frantically, waving his arms around like a deranged chicken. "When the hell did that happen?!"

"Around three months ago."

"_THREE MONTHS_?!"

"Please stop shouting," I sighed. "Or I'm hexing you in the arse."

He snapped his jaw shut.

Yeah, that's right, don't mess with the pregnant woman.

Rose and Albus went off around the corner arguing about who was going to be in front of who, meaning who was going to be in firing line when Ginny went to hit things. Scorpius, looking thoroughly put-out, dutifully trailed behind them. Coco skipped over to me and linked my arms.

"We still have to tell dad, you know," she whispered as he walked back to the Gryffindor common room.

"I know."

"And Aunt Annie who, by the way, is going to freely murder you with a spatula."

Suddenly, the image of my Aunt Annie coming at me with a spatula screaming at me about protection and how stupid I am rushed through my mind.

I couldn't help it, I laughed.

* * *

**Thoughts?**

**Sorry this chapter took so long to get out, I've been busy with school work lately. **

**Thanks,**

**-Laylax**


	12. Going home, daddy and Potter boy

**Don't own anything except OC's.**

* * *

Chapter 12. Going home, daddy and Potter boy

We were going home.

Normally, this sentence would make me extremely happy. Why wouldn't it? I was going to see my dad, my Aunt Annie, my sister, Sage, plus I got a shit load of presents and a massive Christmas dinner. Usually, I would have been acting more like Coco than I _ever _do, which means I would be smiling and laughing and jumping around in joy.

Not this year, no. This year just brings shit, followed by more shit, followed by horrible, diarrhoea shit.

Okay, ew.

Going home for Christmas meant that I was going to be around my dad, which also meant I had to tell him his eldest (and best) daughter was up the duff. Already, I could see this Christmas break was _not _going to end well.

Coco had to pack my bags for me this year, I was too busy sat on my bed doing yoga (per Coco's advice) as I tried to calm myself down. In the background Rose had her sea, whales and dolphins CD playing which, in Rose's words, was meant to "sooth the mind". All it did was make me need piss really bad.

Linda and Megan paid no attention to our strange behaviour, apparently too used to it by now. I didn't know whether to be thankful or worried. Was I really as crazy as Coco and Rose? This thought passed through my head as a made the complimentary "oooooommmmmm" sound all yoga instructors tell you to do, so I think I knew the answer to the question.

The CD was abrasively cut off and I popped my right eye open to see Coco ready to go with both our bags packed. "I'm done," she announced proudly. "Now, let's go, bitch."

Shaking like a leaf, I got to my feet and followed them down to the Great Hall. Everyone was already hugging and kissing each other goodbye and shouting promises of writing to each other. Some third years near the Hufflepuff table were even crying. Honestly, it was two weeks, couldn't people survive two weeks without each other? But as the small blonde girl cried in a terribly annoying, high-pitched voice, "I'll miss you guys _so much_!" and then promptly fell to her knees sobbing, I decided no, they couldn't. Seriously, this is what the world had come to.

I scoffed down my breakfast as fast I could and then rushed off with my friends to get a compartment. We chose a one close to the back and big enough to fit us all in. Albus heaved my trunk above our heads and then sat down opposite me, next to the window.

As I listened to my friends talk about the probability of farting the alphabet, my pregnancy brain mind began to make up wild situations of telling my dad about this baby. One including him jumping out the window and falling to his knees screaming "NOOOOOO!" whilst the rain poured down on his face, another including him disowning me and throwing me out the house, another him pushing me down the stairs, and the last, my favourite, him hugging me and telling me everything would be okay.

The probability of that happening? Zilch.

Half an hour later the train hooted and we were off home, me dreading every second that passed. When we started to zoom past the countryside, my heart started to pound in my chest at the thought of being closer to telling him. I stayed silent for the journey, which surprised no one, occasionally letting out a worried huff and puff, along with a quiet whimper.

When we turned the corner to King's cross, I felt like I was going to spew and/or faint. I was so nervous. My mind was reeling with possibilities and endless outcomes of what was going to happen in the next twenty-four hours it was making my brain sizzle. Albus handed me my trunk and I cautiously wheeled it off the train, caught between running to find my dad or running away all together. But just as I thought about maybe hiding at the Leaky Cauldron for the rest of my pregnant life, I caught sight of my dad, Aunt Annie and Sage. Sage caught my eyes and immediately ran at me, her arms outstretched and giggling manically. I just had time to catch her and, wanting to jump onto the train track, I walked over to my family.

I gave my dad my best "I love you, please don't kill me" hug, and then gave my Aunt Annie a, "Please try to calm my dad down when he tries to kill me" hug. Sage bounced around my feet asking a million questions a second about Hogwarts and what it's like. I mindlessly answered them while trying to keep up conversation with my dad to keep him sweet for when I told him the news. I even asked how work is, _that's_ how bad this situation was.

When I got into the Christmas decorated house I raced upstairs and dropped my suitcase onto my bed. Coco followed just behind with her case, she hauled it onto her bed and raised her eyebrows at me.

"Are you going to tell him?"

"Yes."

"When?"

"Three days from never."

She rolled her eyes at me and unlocked her trunk with a flick of her wrist. "You need to tell him, Callie. If he finds out from someone else it'll only make him madder."

"What if the baby tells him?"

"Excuse me?"

"Well, I could wait until the baby can talk and then be like, "great, go and tell your grandpa now". That way the baby will get to know its grandpa, and dad won't kill me. Ta-da!"

She didn't look impressed. "Worst idea you've ever had, _ever_. _You_ need to tell him within the next twelve hours or I'm telling him."

"You wouldn't."

"Watch me."

Shit, she was being serious.

"You suck."

She rolled her eyes at me, again, and started to unpack her things into the wardrobe. After around five minutes she got tired of doing it by hand and flicked her wand, resulting in hers and my clothes being fully unpacked and our trunks under our beds. Coco switched on our TV and I silently went over what to say to my dad.

I could go for the blunt approach and just outright say I'm pregnant. But when I think about that, it ends with my dad having a severe heart attack, so I opted no on that one. I could rap it, something like, "you're going to be a grandpa. How cool is that?" complete with Coco doing a tune in the background, gold chains and a backward cap on my head. Or I could just scream "YOU THE GRANDPA!" and then bolt to a hotel for days until he calms down, leaving Coco to explain everything.

Dinner came around quicker than I would have liked. The whole family sat around the table and listened as Bruce tried to convince Aunt Annie that rules were simply guidelines, not dead set things that everyone _had _to follow. She looked thoroughly put-out by his wild explanations and my dad was finding it hard not to laugh.

"Dad, Callie needs to talk to you after dinner," Coco said calmly whilst cutting up her piece of chicken.

I glared resentfully at her and aimed a kick under the table, but caught Bruce instead who howled in pain and started to scream bloody murder, dad then started to choke on his food from laughing. My Aunt Annie rolled her eyes, flicked her wand at dad, who's bright red/blue/purple face turned back to normal colour, and then told Bruce she was going to make him really feel real pain if he didn't stop screaming in her ear.

My hands were shaking as Aunt Annie, Bruce and Sage disappeared upstairs to watch some Disney movie Sage loved. It was about a singing mermaid who falls in love with a human and has a best friend who's a fish, and he can talk. Where's the life lesson in that? I watched that movie once when I was younger and then went to an Aquarium with my dad and Aunt Annie. When I got there I stole a fish from the "touching tank" and demanded it to talk. My dad had to sit me down and carefully explain that animals couldn't actually speak. Therefore, I threw the bitch fit of all tantrums in the middle of the hallway, resulting in a woman being bit on the ankle, a fish dying from lack of water, and me causing the Aquarium to loose electricity for a month because of some freaky, anger induced magic I did, blowing all the circuits in the damn place.

I'm never letting my kid watch those things.

You know, if I keep it . . .

"So, what do you want to talk about, honey?"

Oh Merlin, he called me honey.

"The weather. Hasn't it been crazy lately—"

"Callie," Coco put in slowly—warningly.

Dad raised his eyebrows. "I hardly believe you wanted to talk about the weather, Callie," he chucked. I wanted to fall into a black hole and never surface. "Now, what's wrong?"

"Dad—just—can you try not to be angry?"

His eyebrows scrunched. "Why would I be—"

"Just, please? For my sake, can you please not stab me with a knife or throw me down the stairs?"

He looked confused. "Callie, I'm not going to do that."

"Good. Remember that when I tell you this."

"Right."

"You see, the thing is—this is hard to say. Remember that you love me and I'm your eldest daughter, okay? That would be really—"

"She's pregnant!"

You know when you really went to get out a machete and chase someone down the street yelling "YOU'RE GOING TO DIE!", I was having one of those muments.

Everything froze for a second and Coco slapped her hand over her mouth, sending me an apologetic look. My mouth was still hanging open like a dead mole rat and I stared at Coco with anger, frustration, amazement, and a little relief that I hadn't been the one to actually say the words. After getting over my initial shock over Coco, my eye flickered to my dad. He was looking at Coco like she had just told him she was Voldemort reincarnated and was going to go on a killing rampage, starting with him.

Everything was silent for a few minutes, only the odd scream, yell or laugh from the three people upstairs. I stopped breathing for a long portion of time, afraid that if I moved, I would break the dynamic of this thing we had going on. Me frozen in shock, Coco looking very much like she wanted to escape the room, and my dad like he was about to have a stoke.

Of course, everything has to come to an end.

My dad turned to me and I almost died right there and then.

He was frowning, sending me his angry and disappointed face that made feel worthless. His eyes glanced around the room as if he was trying to find someone and a part of my brain came to life, sending me a signal that I should be confused about who he was looking for.

"Why isn't he here?"

"What?" came my spluttering, dumbfounded reply.

"The guy, why isn't he here with you? Telling me himself?"

Well, this _was not_ what I expected.

I swallowed in disbelieve and let out a long breath. "He ran away."

"What?"

"He left, daddy. After she told him she was pregnant," Coco answered after I opened and closed my mouth a couple of times in astonishment.

Out of all the situations I ran through my mind, this was not one of the outcomes. He should be yelling, screaming, throwing things, hitting things. He shouldn't be asking where the guys is, should he?

"He _what_?!"

His voice was so loud, Coco and I flinched back, watching quietly as he slammed his fists on the table and stood up so abruptly that his chair clattered to the floor. His light blue eyes blazed hot with anger and his face flushed a bright red as he bared his teeth.

"Was it that Potter boy?"

Mutely, I nodded, wondering how the hell he knew it was James when he had no idea that I even knew him. Did my dad have a sixth sense? That would be very cool. He could tell me what I was going to do with the kid, if James was ever going to come back, what would happen to the baby if I gave it away.

Before I could ask him how I knew, he tore out the kitchen, his feet stomping the ground. He jumped into the floo network and yelling "POTTER MANOR!" so loud, the chandelier shook lightly. He was gone in a flash of flaming green.

I stared at the spot he had disappeared from, utterly and completely gob-smacked. What the fuck had just happened here? Was this real? Was this some kind of messed up dream? Or a part of my imagination? This couldn't be real.

Coco flew into the kitchen, her strawberry blonde hair flying all over the place and her eyes wide with fear. I exchanged a rather blank look with her and then a though registered in my brain. My dad only knew about James because he was Harry Potter's son and was always in the magazines and papers. There was no way my dad could have made the connection between me and James, especially because I had never mentioned James before in my life, intentionally anyway I may have mentioned him in passing, unless he really did have some kind of supernatural ability, which I highly doubted.

However, there was one Potter boy that by dad did know about, and pretty well. A Potter boy that came around my house almost every day during the holidays and who my dad repeatedly said I was going to fall in love with when I grew up.

Albus.

My dad meant Albus when he said about the Potter boy.

Which meant Albus was either dead around about now, or very close to being dead.

Feeling sick, I ran into the floo network.

* * *

**Thoughts?**

**Thank you to everyone that reviewed, alerted and favourited this story! **

**I'd love to know what everyone is thinking about this story, so please drop a review and tell me, even if it's criticism. I really want to know if it's going good or going shit before I start the thinking about writing other stories, so seeing what other people think would really help.**

**-Laylax**


	13. Angry Potters, awkwardness and father-da

**Don't own anything except OC's.**

* * *

Chapter 13. Angry Potters, awkwardness and father-daughter talks

I stumbled into the familiar living room of the Potter house, almost running into the couch in my haste to get there. When I caught myself, I looked up to see my dad pointing his wand threateningly at a very confused and scared Albus. On the floor was a shattered bowl and popcorn all over, most looking like someone had stepped on it, making the food squish into the carpet.

My dad screamed something and Albus yelled something back, but it fell on my deaf ears. My brain was ringing too loud for me to take anything in. Someone crashed into the back of me and I just had to realize it was Coco before I ran forward, taking a hold of my dad's right arm, the one that was pointing the wand at Albus' throat.

"Dad, stop!" I shouted, yanking on his arm, but it did not move. "Dad, I didn't mean Albus! I meant James!"

"What?" my dad spat, sending me a confused look.

"I meant James, the other Potter boy!"

Coco was also yanking to get my dad away from Albus, but her attempts were as futile as mine. My dad slowly dropped his hand with his wand in, letting it fall to his side. I breathed out in relief and let go of my dad's shirt, which was making my hand burn from grabbing so hard, and turned to ask if Albus was okay.

"What's going on out here?!"

I imagined myself walking to the closest wall and repeatedly whacking my head off of it.

Harry and Ginny Potter came out from what I knew to be the kitchen, both confused and agitated. When they saw us three they both cocked their eyebrows, then they saw Albus pushed up against the wall and got protective.

"What do you think you're doing?" Ginny snapped hotly, rushing forward to shove my dad out the way and glare at him.

"What are you doing in my house?" Harry asked eerily calm, but that made me even more frightened than ever.

"We were just leave—"

"Your son got my daughter pregnant!"

Seriously? _Seriously?_

Ginny looked completely taken back. "What?" she breathed, her eyes flashed dangerously.

"Albus, is that true?" Harry questioned in a bold, deep voice.

Albus looked frantically from his mum to his dad. "It wasn't me!" he howled loudly. "He means James! I would never do _that _with Callie! She's like a sister to me! I'm just as pissed as you are, sir," Albus aimed at me dad.

"It was James?!" Ginny shrieked piercingly loud. To my utmost surprise, she started to whack Albus repeatedly over the head. "Why—didn't—you—tell—me—you—stupid—boy!"

Harry easily walked forward and scooped his wife into his arms so she couldn't continue hitting Albus, though she glared hatefully at him and struggled in his arms. She was _fuming_. I didn't know how Harry was holding her so calmly when she looked like she was about to strangle him with her bare hands. _I _would have been shitting my pants. But I quickly reminded myself that Harry had defeated Voldemort, the scariest man in history.

Ginny screamed out in frustration. It was clear Ginny hated being tied into his arms so what did she do?

She bit him.

She bit _Harry Potter _on the hand.

I'm pretty sure there's a law against that somewhere.

"OW! Ginny!" Harry yelled, waving his hand madly in the air.

"James told us he was taking a break because N.E.W.T.S were getting too much for him," Ginny fumed, her face blooming bright red. "And we let him, too! Harry, we _let _him! We didn't even try to go and get him!" Harry nodded, looking too afraid that she would bit him again if he disagreed to anything she said. "I'm going to _hurt him so bad_!" Ginny paced the living room muttering under her breath about idiotic sons.

"Is that really why he ran away?" Harry asked once Ginny went off. His question was aimed at Albus, but his bright green eyes, so similar to Al's, flickered to me. "Because he got somebody pregnant?"

Albus nodded, running a hand through his hair. "Yeah. He left as soon as he found out."

"So that letter, it was a lie?"

"Yeah."

"Why didn't you tell us, Al?" he asked disappointedly.

Albus shuffled uncomfortably and rubbed the back of his neck, looking ashamed and scared at the same time. "I'm sorry, dad. I was going to tell you, I was just waiting for the right time. Especially because we've just got back from the Burrow. I was going to tell you tomorrow after everyone was rested and not annoyed from spending all day with the family."

Harry nodded, though his expression made it obvious that he didn't think that was a good enough excuse. He nodded at us all and then went to comfort his angry wife, who was now pounding a cushion with her fists.

"Are you okay, Al?" I whispered, heart hammering so fast I wondered if it was going to pop out of my chest. "Did he hurt you or anything?"

Albus rolled his eyes and grinned at me. "Nah, I'm fine. Although, I'm looking at your dad in a whole new light. He's fucking scary as shit."

I sighed, contemplating laughing or crying, and softly rubbed the spot on his neck my dad had previously pressed his wand into. There was a small red mark that looked like it would fade in about fifteen minutes, but it still made me feel incredibly guilty.

"Don't worry, Callie, I won't press charges or anything," Al mocked brightly.

Happy-go-lucky little shit.

I smiled lightly at him and turned, watching as Harry whispered soothing words to Ginny and her face started to turn from red, to pink, and then finally back to normal. She took three loud, deep breaths, looked at Harry for a few more seconds and then turned to us.

"Would anyone like some tea?"

That was how I found myself sat around the Potter's kitchen table nursing a boiling cup of tea in my hands and silently questioning when the world had flipped upside down, backwards and dropped three kilometres.

"So," Ginny heaved after sitting down and taking a drink of her tea. "Callie, how far along are you?"

"Um, nearly three months," I replied awkwardly.

"What?" dad boomed, almost dropping his tea. "Three months? You waited _three months_ to tell me?"

I slumped down in my seat and shrugged, "little bit."

"Merlin, Calliope, you're going to be the death of me."

If only I had a galleon for every time he said that.

Ginny moaned into her cup and pushed her hand through her hair. "Bloody hell, I can't believe this. I always told that boy to be careful, so what does he do? He gets a girl pregnant. Idiot. Honestly, you kids give me premature grey hair."

Albus looked offended by that comment and let out an affronted huff. "I still don't see what _I've _done wrong, but whatever."

Ginny glared.

"Have you been to the healers yet?" Harry asked as Ginny continued to glare at Albus.

"Um, no."

"Have you thought about what you're going to do with the baby?"

"A little."

"What about next year? Are you doing your N.E.W.T.S?"

"I don't know."

Dad smacked his forehead with his hand.

_Well_.

"We'll start with seeing a healer," Ginny offered tiredly, rubbing her face with her hands. "I'll ring up Healer Thane. She did all of my pregnancies and she was amazing. She kept them a secret until I was ready for the press to find out and everything. She's the only one I trust."

I didn't know whether to be thankful or not, so I stayed quiet.

Silence fell around us. Coco tapped her cup with her nail uncomfortably and uneasily glanced around the room, sighing and then fiddling with the loose thread of her top.

"Sorry, by the way," my dad blurted suddenly, looking at Albus. "About the whole attacking you thing."

"It was understandable."

"I was really angry."

"Again, completely understandable."

My dad bobbed his head multiple times and Albus cleared his throat, awkwardly rapping his fingers against the table.

Wow, this was uncomfortable.

"Do you know where James has gone?" Harry asked after taking a long drink of his lemonade, which he had also put around a gallon of fire-whiskey into.

"No," Albus answered calmly, though his eyes stormed. "He left soon after saying he didn't want the baby. I stayed with Callie so I didn't get chance to talk to him. He was already gone when I was about to go and talk to him. Freddie and the guys said that James didn't say anything about where he was going, he just packed a bag and left. Honestly, we thought he would tell you."

"He just said that he needed a break from school. He said life was getting too much for him," Ginny sighed. "What he wrote sounded so desperate I just said he could take all the time he needed and we could sort it out together later. If I had known about _this_," she motioned to my stomach. "I wouldn't have let him go, obviously."

For some reason, I felt guilty. Ginny looked really upset, Harry's jaw was set tight, and Albus looked like he wanted to jump out of the window, and I felt like I had caused it. I felt like singing "_Always look on the bright side of life, de dum, de dum, de dum de dum de dum_", but I knew it would have been highly inappropriate. Everyone just looked so . . . down. Even the Potter family owl, Hermit, looked depressed from his place on the kitchen counter.

"Maybe we should go home," I said, already standing. "It's been a long day and I think everyone needs sleep, so . . ."

"Good idea!" Coco chirped, sprinting from the kitchen as fast as she could. She didn't like awkward situations, they made her feel sad, apparently.

"Yes, good idea," Harry nodded, also standing. "How about you come to dinner on Wednesday? Ginny and I both finish early, so you can come around three."

Dad agreed, shook Harry's hand and apologized again to Albus, who just laughed, and then disappeared into the living room. I hugged Albus fiercely and waved goodbye the Harry and Ginny before following him. Just before I got into the floo network, I saw Ginny rush you the stairs, sniffling.

It made me feel sick.

I landed in my living room and was surprised to find it empty. Confused, I walked into the kitchen and found my dad drinking hot chocolate and eating a sandwich. He looked up when I came in and motioned for me to take a seat next to him. He waved his wand and a hot chocolate appeared in front of me, I cradled it in my hands and silently waited for him to say something.

He didn't.

I waited for a little longer, but he continued to eat his sandwich, smacking his lips and slurping his drink every few seconds.

"Daddy, say something," I pleaded shamelessly.

He sighed, set his half eaten sandwich down and looked at him with a strong stare. Even though it was just a look, it still made tears spring to my eyes. "I can't lie and say I'm not incredibly disappointed, Callie," he admitted. "I expected more from you. I thought I taught you enough about life to know how to be responsible. I don't know, maybe it was my fault for not talking to you enough, I should have been a better dad—"

"Dad," I breathed, a tear leaking from my eye. "Don't say that. You're the best dad in the world, it wasn't your fault, it was mine. I should have been more responsible."

Dad leaned over and brushed the tear from my cheek. "You're right, you should have. What you've done is incredibly stupid and irresponsible, Calliope. I thought I could trust you not to make these kind of mistakes."

I cried harder.

"And I know—I know it's been hard on you because of your mum and everything, and I'm sorry about that. I tried, I really did. But raising two teenage girls without their mum is really hard," he gulped, his Adam's apple bobbing. "I used to have your Aunt Annie, but then Sage came along and she had to put everything she had into being a mum to her, so I had to raise you two alone. Maybe I should have researched on teenage girls in books and stuff."

"I don't think there's a book on that, dad."

"There should be," dad huffed. "It would make a lot of guys' life a whole lot easier."

"You were the best dad," I said through a thick throat. "We never felt like we were missing out on stuff. I mean, Coco and I had each other to talk to girly shit about, and, let's face it, I never really wanted to talk about girl stuff anyway," he laughed at this and nodded thoughtfully. "This was just a mistake, dad. One big, stupid, fat mistake. I drank too much and I have to pay the consequences, it was nothing to do with you and your parenting."

"So you do know when you do something wrong," dad smirked after I finished my truthful speech. "I'm not happy about this at all, but I'm going to stand by you, Callie. You're my daughter, no matter what stupid things you do. I'll always love you."

"Thanks, dad . . . I think."

Dad chortled and took another bite of his sandwich. He looked on in deep thought for a mument, swallowed, and then turned back to me with a stern look. "Promise me something?"

"What?"

"Next time, use protection."

I spat my drink all over the table and my dad laughed so hard he fell out of his seat.

I didn't find it funny, _at all_.

. . .

Okay, so maybe it was a little funny.

* * *

**Thoughts? **

**Thanks to everyone that reviewed, favourited and alerted! Means a lot!**

**And to ****_StormySeaEyes _****because your review was so awesome I felt the need to answer it down here.**

_**Thank you so much for your review! It meant so much to me and pushed me to get this next chapter out! **_

_**Yes, James is an idiot and he really needs to get back to Callie. He's a very complex character and I think some people are either going to love or hate him, but I'd had the idea in my head for ages and I'm trying to make the reactions and personalities as believable as possible. As for Albus and Callie getting together, I've never really thought about it! I've always imagined them as having a brother-sister type relationship, but you never know! **_

_**Thank you again! -Laylax**_

_**Small character guide:**_

_**James' friends: Fred "Freddie" Weasley (also cousin), Louis Weasley (also cousin), Dominique "Dom" Weasley (also cousin), Carly Longbottom, Ethan Markesan, Dylan and Derrick Wood**_

_**Callie's friends: Cordelia "Coco" Denison (also twin), Albus "Al" Potter, Rose Weasley, Scorpius "Scorp" Malfoy**_

_**Callie's family: Adrian Denison (dad), Cordelia "Coco" Denison (twin), Bruce Denison (half-brother), Annie Tanner (Adrian's best friend that helped him with the twins after their mom left), Sage Tanner-Denison (half-sister)**_

_**If you want a more detailed one or a specific character just ask and I'll give it to you!**_

_**-Laylax**_


	14. Questions, the Potters and heart to hear

**Don't own anything except OC's.**

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**Chapter 14. Questions, the Potters and heart to hearts.**

The next day when I walked down to breakfast I was greeted warmly. My dad smiled at me, Coco waved, Bruce kicked me, Sage clapped her hands and Aunt Annie kissed my cheek. So I innocently sat on my chair waiting for the bacon to be cooked when Aunt Annie walked over and started to hit me over the head with a wooden spoon.

As you can imagine, I was quite surprised.

"OW! Aunt Annie, what are you doing?!" I screamed as the wooden spoon came into contact with my ear.

"Hitting you."

"Yes, I can see and feel that, but _why_?!"

"Because, apparently, you don't know what a condom is, you imbecile."

Well, this sentence just caused myhem.

My dad started to choke on his breakfast, Coco started to laugh hysterically, Bruce knocked over his drink onto Sage, who started to scream the bloody house down and kick me in the knee because of her body jerking.

It was chaos for fifteen minutes until everything settled down. By this time my dad was a light shade of pink, which was better than the blue/purple/red colouring he had a minute ago, Coco was just softly giggling, Bruce was looking at me with angry eyes, Sage was crying and had no idea what the fuck was going on, and my head and ears were stinging from Aunt Annie's brutal whacks. Just as Aunt Annie set my bacon sandwich down in front of me (and whacked me on the head again for good measure), Sage spoke.

"Mummy, what's a condom?"

Oh dear Merlin, what was happening to the world?

"Well done, Annie," dad scoffed sarcastically, earning a glare from my Aunt. "You can take this one, dear best friend of mine."

Aunt Annie whacked my dad on the head with her spoon this time, which I laughed and pointed at, and gave my little sister a calm stare. "It's a form of protection, sweetie."

"From what?"

Bruce snorted, Coco blushed, Dad shook his head and took another drink of his tea, and I leaned forward in anticipation of the answer.

"Bad things, honey."

"What kind of bad things."

"Bad things that can leave you knocked up at the age of sixteen with no boyfriend, money or job," Bruce put in not-so-helpfully.

Git.

Sage looked thoughtful for a second. "What does knocked up mean?"

Everyone glared at Bruce, he shrugged sheepishly.

"It means someone is having a baby, Sage, but it's not a very nice saying so don't repeat it."

"Okay," Sage agreed, taking another fork full of scrambled eggs. "So connydoms protect people from bad things that can make a person have a baby?"

"That's right."

"But I thought having a baby is a good thing, mummy?"

"It is, honey, but not when someone isn't ready for the baby."

"Who's not ready for a baby?"

"Callie."

"Ooooooooooooooo," Sage gasped theatrically, pointing at me. "You're in trouble!"

Don't I know it, Sage, don't I know it.

Dad and Coco started to laugh again and even Aunt Annie cracked a smile.

For the rest of the day Sage kept telling me I was in trouble, amusing all my family members except me. Aunt Annie sat me down on the night, hit me twice on the head with her hand and then told me I was an idiot, but she was going to support me anyway. We hugged, she left and that was the end of that. For the next couple of days I spent time with my family and tried to savour the simple times before everyone found out about me being pregnant with James' kid and all hell breaking loose. I imagined a lot of crying, yelling, insulting and fights happening when everyone found out, to be honest. Mostly from James' "fan girls" and the press making up stupid stories about how the baby was an alien or something.

I was already having nightmares about James' past girlfriends and wannabe girlfriends hunting me down and stabbing me with their overpriced make-up brushes and stiletto heels.

They were frightening, I tell you.

When Wednesday came around I found myself nervous as hell as I got ready to go around the Potter household. What if they didn't like me? That would royally suck considering I was going to have their grandchild in six months. They probably think I'm some pre-teen bitch that drugged James into bed and got knocked up for the fun of the drama. Merlin, I hoped not.

Just as I had finished putting my loose fitted top on, successfully covering my small bump, someone knocked at the door. Coco was downstairs with Aunt Annie making a cake to take around the Potter's and my dad was being the "food critic", meaning he was eating everything they were making and pretended he was just "testing" it. I wondered who it was until Bruce simply opened the door, not even waiting for a response, and sat on the end of Coco's bed with a small smile on his face.

"So, you're knocked up, eh?"

Oh, how lovely.

"Suppose so."

"You do know that you're going to be totally trampled on by the school when everyone finds out about this. Not only are you the only girl up the duff, but it's also _James Potter's _baby. That's carnage in itself."

"Yes, thanks for that, Bruce. As if I wasn't worried enough."

"Sorry," he shrugged, not looking sorry at all but rather grinning. "But I'm just telling you the truth. I can imagine it now. There's going to be dartboards with your face on that James' past girlfriends gather around and throw darts at your head. Then they'll create a voodoo doll and stick it in the eyes with pins while chanting an ancient curse that makes your face fill up with permanent boils."

"You're funny."

"Seriously, you're like a walking soap opera with all your drama. Oh, you should totally go on the Jeremy Kyle show!"

"Hilarious."

"I know," he grinned cheekily. He frowned seconds later and looked at me with his dark green eyes. "James is an arse for leaving you by the way. If I could I'd beat him up, but he's about three times the size of me, so . . ."

"It's the thought that counts, I suppose."

"Exactly," he chirped. "And I'm my head I'm pinning him to the floor and bitch slapping him, so remember that."

"Always," I replied, chuckling.

"It'll be pretty cool to be an Uncle," he said as I put on my brown ballet shoes. "I can teach him how to pull pranks and get away with them."

"I don't know if I'm keeping it yet," I burst out without thinking. However, once I knew it was out, I couldn't take it back. "I'm thinking about giving it up for adoption, actually."

"Oh," Bruce spluttered, rubbing the back of his neck uncomfortably. "That's . . . cool?"

I shrugged, pulling on the end of my hair guiltily and closing the wardrobe door. During the times I had thought about the baby, most of them ended with the best option being adoption. I could imagine giving the baby up for adoption more than I could being a mum to it, so what did that say about it? It was clear I wasn't ready to be a mum, James certainly wasn't ready, nor did he want to, to be a dad, yet I wasn't going to abort the baby, so I had no other option.

I hadn't told anyone else that I was thinking about it. People were just assuming that I was keeping the baby and being one of those amazing women that raised their children and still found a way to have a job somewhere, but no one had really asked me if what I was going to do with the baby. I let everyone carry on thinking what they wanted, I didn't want to cause unnecessary drama right now, I had enough going on in my life. I still had six months left to figure out what I was going to do.

Once my shoes were on I walked downstairs and into the kitchen. Coco was decorating a sponge cake, her tongue stuck out in concentration and everything, and my Aunt Annie was shouting at my dad for eating the pie she had made. After confiscating the deadly wooden spoon, as renamed as a result of days ago, I grabbed my dad and waited for Coco to wrap the cake up and then we were off.

We flooed over to the Potters and landed in their living room again. Ginny came out from the kitchen with a small smile on her face. "Hello, welcome to our house again," she greeted us brightly. "And this time there's no shouting involved."

Coco grinned and bounded forward. "Hey, Mrs. P, I made this cake for you guys."

Ginny took the cake and peeked in through the wrapping Coco had put on. "Thanks, Coco, dear, it looks amazing," Ginny complimented, earning a 1000 mega-watt smile from Coco. "We're eating in the kitchen."

We followed Ginny and the delicious smells floating from the kitchen. Harry was stirring a pot on the stove whilst Lily and Albus set the table that had been expanded to fit everyone around comfortably.

"Hey, Mr. P!" Coco chipped, waving as she took a seat on the right side of the table.

Harry smiled in amusement. "Hello, Coco, how are you?"

"Can't complain, you?"

"Good, thank you."

"Hey, Callie," Lily smiled as I took a seat next to Coco, across from Albus who was sat to the left of Lily. "I can't believe your dad attacked Albus, that's hilarious." I smirked widely at her as she continued. "He was totally freaked out when he told me about it the next day. I so wish I'd been there, I would have gotten pictures and posted them around the school when we got back."

"Shut up, Lily," Albus muttered, rolling his eyes.

"What? I didn't do anything," she replied innocently, though the devilish glint in her eyes deceived her.

Harry sat down next to Albus on the right and started up a conversation about the chance of the Chudely Cannons winning the league and how stupid Ron was for putting a bet on them every week. My dad sat down beside me and Ginny took up the seat at the head of the table. She flicked her wand and magically plates were set out and the pot Harry head been stirred before started to hand out serving's of chicken curry, and another pot gave out some yellow rice and chips.

We made simple conversation as we ate, mostly about Quidditch and school life. Once we had finished eating we gathered around the couches in the living room and that was when the serious talking started.

"So, Callie, have you thought about what you're going to do next year?" Ginny questioned after Lily had finished telling a tale about one of her many detentions. "I mean, how are you going to complete your N.E.W.T.S if you have a baby to look after?"

All heads turned to my direction and a cold sweat erupted onto my skin. Uneasy, I pulled on the end of my top and cleared my throat. "That's the thing, I don't know whether I'll have a baby to look after," I replied, resulting in very confused looks from the people before me. "I mean, I've been thinking a lot about it and I'm considering adoption."

"You are?!" Coco cried in shock.

"Yeah. I'm no where near ready to raise a baby, and clearly James isn't either, so unless someone else in the family wants to raise the baby, then what other choices do I have?"

"But—but—"

"Especially because James isn't sticking around. Maybe if he was helping me I could try to raise it, but on my own I know I definitely can't," I carried on, cutting off Harry's spluttering.

"Have you thought this through, Callie?" Ginny asked, leaning forward to look me dead in the eyes. "I know it's going to be incredibly difficult, but are you sure you'd be able to see your baby taken away to be raised by another family?"

"Do you bond with the baby when it's inside you?"

"Of course! I bonded with mine as soon as I knew I was pregnant, but I can understand if you feel like you haven't. However, when you feel that baby move you'll feel something you've never felt before. A love of a mother for her baby."

Gulping, I awkwardly played with my fingernails and tried to blink back an onslaught of tears. Ginny eyed me suspiciously and then ordered everyone else to get out the room, including my dad, who looked very offended. Harry slung his arm around my dad's shoulders and steered into the children's room, where I knew to be a plasma screen TV and a foosball table.

"There's something more to it than that, I can tell," Ginny said, sitting opposite me and looking at me with patient, kind eyes. "What are you thinking about, Callie?"

"My mum left when I was a toddler," I answered quietly. "My dad told us that she went into depression soon after she had us and couldn't cope with having kids. She stuck around until I was two, but left to live abroad and leaving only a letter," I took a deep breath. "She came back when I was ten saying she missed us and that she wanted to be apart of our lives again. Coco was ecstatic and bonded straight away with her, but I was wary. I didn't start to bond with her until three months after she arrived. Once I started to bond with her, though, I really loved her. I'd never had a mum before, just my Aunt Annie, but when we were seven she had my sister Sage, so she became her top priority."

"I really loved having a mum around. It was the simple stuff like putting make-up on and talking to me about boys. A week before Coco and I were set to go to Hogwarts she left again and left us both notes saying to was too much and that she loved us, but she couldn't handle having us any longer."

"What if I turn out like her? What if all I bring is constant disappointment and heartbreak to my kid? Coco was completely broken when our mum left and it still has an affect on her now. She used to tell me all the time that she wanted mum to come back, and I know she secretly still waiting for the day our mum appears on our door step with her arms open with love, but it's never going to happen. I couldn't do that to someone, especially not my baby."

Ginny stayed silent through my rant and when I was done, she carefully laid her hand on mine and stroked her thumb along the back. "That's awful, Callie. Especially that she left you the second time, but you're not your mum. I've been telling my kids this since the day they were born. Their names are always in the papers and the press are making up stuff about them not living up to expectations and if they will be as great as their famous families. Parents and children are two separate bodies and minds, meaning they are completely different from each other. You are what you make yourself be, not what your parents are."

In that moment, I kind of wished Ginny had been my mum, maybe I wouldn't have turned out so fucked up in the head then. I knew it sounded stupid, who didn't with Ginny Potter, the famous Holyhead Harpies player, to be their mum? But this was different, it wasn't just because she was famous or that I think she would be cool or that she was rich or pretty or married to Harry Potter, it was because she truly loved her family. I could tell just by her words and blazing brown eyes that she would fight until death for any member of her family, and I admired her for that. That was what I craved from my mum.

I was about to tell her this when the front door slammed open, meaning I pounced about fifteen feet in the air and nearly pissed myself. Ginny and I looked towards the door and my heart started to rival the speed of a humming bird's wings and I felt my stomach plummet to my feet.

Because, there stood in the door way looking tired, dishevelled and confused, was James Potter.

* * *

**Thoughts?**

**Thanks to those who reviewed, favourited and alerted! They mean a lot!**

**-Laylax**


	15. Idiot returns, no trust and hormonal cry

**Don't own anything except OC's**

* * *

**Chapter 15. Idiot returns, no trust and hormonal crying**

I was so shocked, I stayed frozen in my seat, my mouth agape and eyes wide.

What the _bloody fuck_ was he doing here?

_Well, this _is _his house_.

Damn you, rational side.

Ginny jumped to her feet as James stumbled into the living room and crashed into the back of the couch slightly out of breath. He wasn't looking at Ginny, however, he was looking at _me_. His eyebrows were knitted together and his eyes were blazing. It was silent for a long time, the only sound was James' heavy breathing and Ginny's occasional sharp intake of breath.

"What the _hell_ are you doing here?!" I screeched angrily, getting to my feet. Ginny jumped at the sudden noise and took a step back so she was pushed against the fireplace.

"I came back."

"YOU _CAME BACK_!?"

Okay, so it hadn't meant to come out _that _loud.

James recoiled and looked angry at my outburst. Oh, good to know _he _was angry. "Yeah, I thought—"

"You thought _what_?" I spat, fuming by the point. I was pretty sure my eye was twitching and my face bright red. "That I would _welcome _you back?! You utter dipshit! What the fuck do you think you were doing running in the first place?!"

His eyes flashed. "I was scared, okay? I needed to get away for a while—"

"Oh, you poor little baby," I cooed patronizingly. "I'm sorry, then, I didn't know you were scared. I'll just let you off and comfort you while I sit here, completely terrified, pregnant and ALONE!" before I knew what was happening, I had stepped forward and slapped him _very hard_ across the face, leaving a hand print on his cheek and my right hand stinging.

"Fuck, Callie!" he swore loudly, cradling his swollen cheek that only made me feel proud and in no way shape or form guilty. "That's not what I meant, Callie. I just meant I needed time alone to think about everything."

"And you needed nearly a month to do that, did you?" I asked dryly.

"Well, yeah—"

"What's all the shouting about?" Harry's voice floated through the room as he stepped through the doorway leading to the kid's living room. "James, what are you doing here?"

"James, what the hell?" Albus exclaimed in disbelief.

"_YOU_!" my dad bellowed, stomping forward but was stopped by Coco who pounced, grabbed onto his leg and hugged it like a baby to keep him from moving along the floor. Dad tried unsuccessfully to shake her off, but Coco grabbed on like it was her life line. "Who do you think you are leaving my daughter are _you knocked her up_?! You're meant to be a man, act like one."

James growled. "I've come back, haven't I?"

"Oh, how chivalrous of you," Albus piped in sarcastically. "The thing is, while you were off gallivanting places, a lot happened. For instance, all of our friends and family have found out about her being pregnant. Oh, and we've had to tell mum and dad, Callie's dad and her family. Plus, _I've _been the one comforting Callie while she cried her eyes out about being alone and you being a bloody coward that can't stand up to his responsibilities if it doesn't involve Quidditch!"

I nodded furiously at his words and gave James a "you better not mess with me, bitch" look.

He sighed. "I just needed to think. I was just so shocked and scared when you told me. I never thought something like this would happen, you know? You read about the possibilities and stuff, but you never think it could actually happen to you. I stayed at a motel in London and I've been thinking things over and I've calmed myself down and I knew I had to come back."

"Nice work, Einstein," Coco quipped from her place on dad's leg.

Lily walked in from the kid's living room at that moment, glanced around the room until her eyes landed on James and then she flew forward. I expected her to hug, kiss and welcome him home, but instead she started to bat her fists against his chest, her hair flying like fire around her. "YOU STUPID PRAT! I WAS WORRIED SICK ABOUT YOU FOR THREE WEEKS! WHAT THE HELL DID YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING RUNNING AWAY LIKE THAT?!" she continued to batter him all over until Harry walked over, picked her up by the arms and wrapped her in a vice-like grip with his arms. Lily panted, her hair all over and covering her face as she glared angrily at James and wiggled manically in her dad's arms, but to no avail.

"Now, how about we all calm down?" Harry smiled, avoiding Lily as she tried to knee him in the balls.

This statement was ruined, however, as Ginny walked forward and started to prod James repeatedly in the chest.

"Ow, mum, what are you doing?!" James yelled as she nipped the skin on his arm and twisted it.

"Punishing you!" Ginny snapped back, pulling at his hair. "I raised you better than to walk away from your responsibilities, James Sirius Potter! You do not realize how disappointed and angry I am at you right now!"

"Mum, maybe you should stop nipping him," Albus said, gently pushing Ginny away as James' skin turned a funny shade of red. Ginny let out a growl, causing Albus to scream girlishly and put his hands over his face, drop to his knees and yell, "DON'T HIT ME!"

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Are all my children over-dramatic?" she asked no one in particular.

"I'm sorry," James beseeched, looking at me. Then he turned to everyone in the room, "to everyone! I wasn't thinking straight, okay? I just knew I needed to take some time to think and wrap my head around everything."

"How did you even know I was here?" I asked, huffing.

"Well, I went to your place first, and your Aunt Annie told me you were here for dinner. She didn't know who I was, I don't think, considering she didn't shout and/or hex me before I left to come here."

"So you really did come back? You're not just saying it because I'm here and you feel like you have to?"

"No!" James protested instantly. "I honestly came back to apologize to you. I really just needed some time to think. Ask anyone, it's what I do! Before a game and everything I need to have five minutes to myself and think things over before I play."

"It's true," Lily offered from her dad's arms.

"This obviously took longer because I found out I had knocked someone up and all, but I came to my sense about a week ago, I was just too afraid to come back. Then I was laid on my bed this-morning and just—I just knew I needed to come today. I really am sorry about everything."

I glared at him. "What about what you said in the changing rooms?"

"What?"

"When you screamed at her you didn't "fucking want it" and that you "didn't care" what she did with it?" Albus put in cheerily.

Ginny let out a scream and charged for James, but was pulled back by Albus at the last minute and practically shoved back, though she still tried to reach for James by clawing at Albus and trying to run around him. My dad also looked like he wanted to punch James really hard in the knackers, but Coco was holding on so tight to his leg, he couldn't move.

"Oh, yeah, that."

"Yeah, _that_."

"I was angry," James murmured, his face turning bright red. "And shocked and scared and I didn't know what to do. And then we started shouting and stuff and I just got _so _angry at myself. When Albus said all that stuff about me it pushed me over the edge and I just had to go. I know it was all true, I would have said the same thing if Albus had done what I had done, but I wasn't thinking straight. I regretted leaving the second I got into London, but I also knew I needed time to think so I didn't turn back."

"What about the letter to your parents?"

"I had to write that in the headmistress's office before I left. I didn't really give her a choice on the matter or anything, I just said I was leaving and that was that. She asked why, but I started shouting—I can't remember what—so she asked me to write a letter to my parents to explain why I was leaving. It was the first words that came to my head and at the time I was so angry, I didn't dare admit that I'd got someone pregnant. I didn't send letters after that because I knew my dad would find a why to track the owl down and I needed to think by myself for a little while."

I understood, I supposed. James was known for his quick-fire temper and Albus had mentioned before about how James needed to think by himself before he took his O.W.L.S in fifth year after I told Albus that James was in the _library_, a place James Potter was _never _found. It still didn't make up for the fact that he left, but, grudgingly, I had to give him credit for coming back.

Plus, as much as I hated to admit it, I needed him here with me. I needed him to support me, come to scans with me, to help me when everyone at school found out and started to spread rumours about me. I needed his support, for him to know the truth and be able to help me through everything.

Huffing, I plopped back into the couch and crossed my arms over my chest in defeat. All the anger had gone from my body now and I was just left feeling annoyed at James. I was far too tired and hormonal for this kind of thing now.

Plus, the baby was probably really annoyed at me for burning off all the food I had just eaten, leaving us both hungry.

"You're not forgiven," I stated offhandedly.

"Oh, I know."

"You owe me."

"Completely."

"You're an absolute arsehole for leaving in the first place and I really want to hit you again."

"Please don't, it really hurt," he said, rubbing his still red cheek.

I snorted. "Good. I hope it stings for days."

"Coco, you can let go of me now," dad sighed in expiration. "I'm not going to hit him."

Coco craned her neck and looked at him angelically. "Are you sure? If you do Mr. P might sue us and we can't afford that, dad."

"I'm sure, Coco."

Sighing, my twin let go of dad's leg and gracefully got to her feet. She eyed dad evilly for a few seconds before joining my side on the couch and rested her head on my shoulder. "All this baby drama is seriously harshing my mood," she muttered bitterly.

Dad glared hatefully at James as he passed him and I scoffed lightly, rolling my eyes. Dad walked over and sat the other side of me, crossed his arms over his chest and stared James down with an "I _dare _you to mess with me" look. He looked like one of those badass cowboy's from the old Western films that always had cigars falling from their mouth and were constantly ordering people to murder someone for a shit load of money. All he needed was the hat, tassels and cowboy boots with spikes on the back.

"I hope you know how disappointed I am in you right now," Ginny bit, hands on hips and ears bright red. "If we didn't have guests I would be shouting a _very_ pissed off range of words at you right now."

James actually looked like he wanted to cry, or shit his pants. "I'm sorry, mum. I really am. I don't know what came over me."

"Damn right you're sorry, you stupid boy," Ginny whacked him over the head three times. "Honestly, what the hell were you thinking?"

"Nothing, did you not just hear my speech?"

She whacked him again. "Don't be cheeky with me, idiot."

"Sorry, ma."

"Sorry isn't enough, James. How could you do that to us? To Callie? I brought you up to be responsible. Also, not only did you run off, but you lied to me and your dad!"

"I know, I know, okay? I'm _sorry_! I should have told you sooner—"

"Yes, you bloody should have!"

"And I'm a stupid brat for not telling you!" James yelled back, his face turning red. "I was just really messed up in the head—I only started to digest it last week!"

Ginny blinked at him. "How am I not hitting you right now?"

James took a long step back and widened his eyes in fright. "I love you, mummy!"

Ginny shouted something back, but I was concentrating on Harry. He was stood next to Albus with his arms crossed over his chest and looking from his wife to James with his eyes scrunched. He kept opening his mouth every few seconds, then quickly closed it before anything could come out. He looked like he knew it would be pointless to try and tame the Ginny when she was on a roll. Ginny was like a pissed off dragon when she was particularly angry.

It was almost funny. Harry Potter, head Auror and the guy that had saved the world from the scariest man to ever walk the earth, scared of his wife's wrath. To be fair, no one could be on the receiving end of Ginny Potter's fury and not feel like curling into a ball and crying. I wasn't even the one being shouted at and I felt like I was regretting ever existing. I could only imagine the terror James was feeling . . . is it wrong that when I did, it made me smile?

"I _always _told you to be careful! I knew you'd end up getting a girl pregnant if you didn't start being more careful, but nnnoooooooooooooooo! "I can handle myself, mum"," she imitated James with a deep, arrogant voice. "Now look what's happened!"

James heaved a long sigh. "I know."

I sat silently enjoying myself as I watched the scene unfold. I wasn't very good with explaining my emotions and feelings with words, but it was almost like Ginny was doing the work for me. James was being blasted and I wasn't even the one having to get angry and think of everything I wanted to say. I could just watch as James got lashed for all the stupid things he had done in the past few weeks. I loved it.

Ginny sighed, whacked him again and then stomped into the kitchen, hair flying all over. Lily sent one last glare at James and then followed her mother into the kitchen. Seconds later, I heard Ginny chuckling.

"Quite life changing stuff you've landed on us, son," Harry said after a few beats of silence.

"Yeah . . ." James muttered, looking down.

"You know you've messed up, right? Your mum and I wouldn't have been half as angry if you stood up for your responsibilities."

James flinched. "I know, sorry."

Harry shrugged. "What's done is done, son. You'll just have to make sure you make up for all the mistakes you've made," his green eyes glanced over at me. "And make sure you don't make them again in the future."

Harry and Albus walked out together after that and into the kitchen. Albus sent me an encouraging smile over his shoulder and motioned for Coco to follow him. Coco grabbed dad's hand and yanked him away, sending me a look as she went. That left just James and I in the living room, both awkwardly fiddling with our fingers and coughing uncomfortably.

"Listen," James said, taking a seat opposite me. "I didn't mean the things I said in the changing room. You—you probably know that I have a temper—who doesn't, right?—and I get pretty pissed off easily and shout things I don't mean. Obviously, this isn't what I wanted to happen, but . . . but I'm going to be there, you know? I won't be the best, far from it, but I'll try."

"Is it strange that I still don't trust you?" I asked, more to myself than him. He ran a hand through his hair and his hazel eyes darted from left to right. "You walked away, James. Not only that, but you shouted some shitty stuff that I won't easily forget, even if you did shout them in anger. It won't be easy for me to accept everything."

"I get it."

"Good, because I need to be alone right now." I got to my feet and wiped down my jeans as if they had dirt all over them. "Bye." I said shortly, disappearing into the floo network. James only had time to stand before I was gone.

Aunt Annie was sat on the couch reading a book when I got home. She looked up when I entered and put her book down onto the floor, staring at me through her stylish rectangle reading glasses. "Hey, Callie, where's you dad and Coco?"

"I left before I could tell them I'd gone," I whispered.

"What's wrong?"

"He came back," I choked. "He said he was sorry and that he was back to support me."

Aunt Annie raised her brown eyebrows. "That's a good thing, right? Why are you crying, honey?"

"I don't know!" I wailed, dropping into her open arms. "Pregnancy sucks, it's making me really hormonal!"

"You'll be really hormonal for the rest of you life, Callie," Aunt Annie chuckled as I cried into her shoulder. "Pregnancy and a baby do that to you."

"Life sucks."

"How morbid," Aunt Annie laughed freely. "You'll be fine, honey. I know people leaving is a sore spot for you, it had been since you were a baby—"

"What?"

"Oh, yeah, you used to go in a mood with me and your dad when we left the room without telling you. I was quite funny at first, but then we realized it was because of—" she stopped short and eyed me nervously.

"My mum," I replied softly, trying to sound like I didn't care.

"Well, yeah. That wasn't my point. The point is, James has come back and you need to take that into consideration, too. Finding out he's going to be a dad has to be a shocking thing for him at his age. Imagine what you felt, okay? James probably felt something like that, too, so remember that. And, as much as you will want to deny this, you need him, Callie. When I was pregnant with Sage I didn't realize how much I would need your dad's support during it. Especially after the baby is born, you're going to need him more than you've ever needed someone in your life."

Sighing I rested my head back on her shoulder and let my eyes flutter shut. I knew she was right, Aunt Annie was always right much to dad's annoyance, but I couldn't get rid of that gnawing feeling of anger in my stomach. All I knew was that I had _a lot _of maturing to do, and fast. I fell asleep on my Aunt Annie, totally exhausted from the day's events.

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**Thoughts?**

**Sorry this chapter had took a little longer than normal, I've been really focused on my Twilight writing recently and I can't seem to get out of the "Twilight mind frame". So if this chapter is complete shit, I'm very sorry, but at least it's a chapter, right? Also, I have a question, does anyone who is reading this read Twilight stories? Just curious.**

**Thanks to everyone that reviewed, alerted and favourited! They mean a lot!**

**-Laylax**


	16. Pancakes, Potter boys and scans

**Don't own anything.**

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**Chapter 16. Pancakes, Potter boys and scans**

"Get up."

My eyes slowly fluttered open just as I felt someone slap the side of my face.

"Get up, Callie!"

I tried to escape as someone continued to slap my face but they were insistent on not letting me sleep. Grunting, I wiggled and blinked furiously to try and get rid of my blurry vision. Bruce was the culprit slapping me and I glared at him, reaching up to grab his hand and pinch his wrist.

"Ouch." He muttered and I smiled sarcastically at him. "You're on the living room couch. I tried to carry you up last night but, damn, you've put on some weight."

I slapped him over the head. Hard.

"You're a git, you know that?" I crocked, rubbing my eyes with my fists. I swung my legs over the side and Bruce took their place, plopping himself down and grinning at me.

"I know," he shrugged simply. "How was last night?"

"James came back."

"I know, Coco told me. How'd that awkward encounter go?"

My lips twitched at his ever-present blunt nature. "It was a shit load of fun," I chirped sarcastically. He smiled at me. "You know, as awkward and weird as you think it went. A lot of shouting, name calling, fake promises of staying—"

"Coco said you slapped him, did you really?"

"Um, yeah."

He laughed delightfully. "I knew you were my sister for a reason, Callie!"

"Good morning!" Aunt Annie beamed as she skipped into the living room with Sage at her heels. Sage clapped happily and jumped into my lap. "I made you pancakes!"

I took them with a smile and practically drowned them in the syrup Sage had in her hand.

"Hey, Cal, want some pancakes with that syrup?"

"Shut up, dad," I said through a mouth full of food.

"That's attractive," Bruce snorted.

"Your face isn't."

"Ooooohhhhhhh!" Coco laughed brightly as she came into the room, pointing at Bruce. "She totally served you!"

Bruce glared at her and I sniggered into my pancakes. After catching Sage staring at my food, I scooped up a mouth full and offered it to her. She chomped happily on her piece and I turned back to my dad.

"What happened after I left?" I asked quietly.

"Nothing much," he scratched the back of his neck uncomfortably and I instantly felt my stomach drop. "James told us what you said, we talked for a while and. . ." he trailed off.

Coco raised her eyebrows accusingly at him. "Carry on, dad, tell her what you did."

I looked from Coco to my dad, adapting her glare and bitch-like stance as best I could with Sage in my arms.

Dad looked at me apologetically. "I invited James around for a while today."

"YOU DID _WHAT_?!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" dad cried, holding his hands out in defence. "I invited Albus, too, though! So it won't be so bad!" I gave him a withering look. "Okay, so it will, but blame Ginny! She tricked me into it somehow!"

Coco rolled her eyes. "Honestly, dad, you're such a poohead sometimes."

Dad's face scrunched together in confusion, amusement and wonder. "Did you seriously just call me a poohead?"

"What are you five?" Bruce chuckled.

"Six, actually," Coco replied arrogantly.

"What time is he coming?" I sighed over the bickering of my brother and sister.

Dad grinned sheepishly at me. "Around two."

Glancing at the clock I saw it was only eleven so it gave me three hours to freak out before I had to see him. I finished my breakfast with Sage and then ran up the stairs to jump into the shower and get some clean clothes on. Before I put on my top, I looked over myself in the mirror, Bruce's words ringing through my head as I prodded my swollen stomach. Had I really put on that much weight? Sure, I knew I'd put on a few pounds, but I didn't think I'd put so much on that Bruce couldn't even lift my anymore. Bruce could easily throw me over his shoulder before my pregnancy.

Around one my heart started to speed up a little and I started to nervously fiddle with things around me.

"Callie?" I looked up as Aunt Annie said my name. "You're putting a hole in the floor," she said after my fifteen minutes of pacing. "What's got you so uptight?"

"Did you not hear my dad? James is coming over in . . . oh, Merlin, half an hour."

She laughed. I didn't see what was so funny. "Calm down, Callie. You're acting like the grim reapers coming over."

"Have you met James?"

She laughed again.

At ten to two our fireplace lit up bright green and Albus stumbled out of it, spraying soot all over the living room. "Callie!" he grinned once he had stopped himself from falling over. He took a step forward and embraced me so hard I had to wiggle to stop from suffocating. "How are you?"

"Good," I answered as the fireplace lit up again. James stepped out rather gracefully, though he was still covered in thick soot like Albus. He cautiously glanced around the room and then his eyes landed on Albus and I. He smiled awkwardly and ran a hand through his hair.

"Where's Coco?" Albus asked, glimpsing behind me.

"She's eating," I replied, nodding to the kitchen. "Aunt Annie made pancakes this-morning so she's probably stuffing her face with them."

Albus ruffled my hair, earning a scowl from me, and then disappeared off into the kitchen, not doubt to steal food off of Coco. Just as I thought that, I heard an indignant "Oi, Albus, ger' off!" from Coco.

James was uneasily leaning against the couch when I turned back around, staring at Aunt Annie and Sage as they played with her Polly Pockets on the floor. Aunt Annie peeked up at me and winked, nudging her head towards James in a pointed manner. What she had said to me the night before echoed in my mind and I sighed, running a hand through my hair.

"That's my sister, Sage," I said at a lack of anything else to say. "And my Aunt Annie."

James looked away from them looking shocked that I had spoke to him. Oh, believe me, buddy, I wouldn't have been if it wasn't for my Aunt.

"Oh."

"Yeah."

_Awkward!_

I shuffled my feet, a feeling of discomfort layering over me like a thick, heavy blanket. I rolled the material of the bottom of my top between my fingers, wondering why the hell James found my sister and Aunt so interesting.

After a few slow minutes, James rolled his head to look at me and smiled slightly. "So, how are you?"

"Good, you?"

"Good."

"Cool."

Several beats of silence passed.

"Done anything interesting?"

"No, just had a shower and stuff, you?"

"Same."

_Dear Merlin, shoot me now._

"The weather's pretty cold, huh?"

I had to stop myself from slapping my forehead with my palm. You know it's bad when all you can think to talk about is the weather.

"These are amazing, Annie," Albus cut through our awful silence cheerfully.

"Stop stealing my food, buttmunch!"

Aunt Annie ignored Coco's scream. "Thank you, Albus. I would offer to teach you how to make them, but the last time you helped me in the kitchen you blew up our microwave."

"Oh, yeah, I'm still sorry about that."

"It's okay. It was actually quite funny. Though at the time, not so much."

"I thought it was hilarious," Coco interrupted, glaring at Albus spitefully. "Especially because you had goo all over you that turned you green for three days."

"Aw, poor Coco," Albus cooed. "She's upset she didn't get her food."

"It was _my _food."

"Ever heard of sharing?"

Coco stuck her tongue out like the mature person she is.

"I'll make some more tomorrow, Coco."

"It's the principle of the thing, Aunt Annie."

"You're such a pig, Al," I scoffed as he stuffed his mouth with another pancake without fully swallowing the other.

"A cute pig," Al grinned, showing off all his uneaten food.

I grunted. "Gross, man."

"You are gross like, Al," James smirked to his brother. Albus flipped us all off and did not slow down his eating.

"Hey, James," Coco smiled brightly, seemingly forgetting her stolen food. "What are you up to for Christmas?"

"We're having a family meal at the Burrow," James replied lightly. "How about you?"

"We're going around Grandma's for dinner. It's going to be a-mazing!" she sung, giggling.

"Oh Merlin," I groaned. "I forgot about that!"

Christmas meant that the whole family had to get together for the day and attempt to get along. An attempt, by the way, that always failed. Our family had so many different personalities that we couldn't be in the same company for more than an hour without someone threatening to kill. Usually, it was me threatening one of my cousins, but who's taking notice? All I know is that family get-togethers are the worst thing for a pregnant, hormonal woman. However, we had to go because my Nana was the one that organized it all, and, as many of my family members point out each year, this could be her last Christmas. My Aunt Brenda had been saying that since I was six, and yet a decade later my Nana was still delicately kicking around.

"Has dad told them about you?" Coco wondered.

"No," Aunt Annie piped up from the floor. "He decided to wait until you go back to school so they can't impose too much."

"And he thinks that will stop them?" I scoffed. "Nothing can stop my bloody family from being nosy."

"That's what I said, but you know your dad, he's stubborn."

I let out a long breath and rubbed my temples, already feeling a hefty migraine coming on and I hadn't even spoken to any of them yet.

"I hope Nana lets me cut the turkey this year," Coco smiled, not sensing my displeasure. "I haven't done it for ages and Noelle didn't even do it right last year. Do you remember?"

Oh, I remembered alright. That was what had started the fight last year. Coco thought Noelle was cutting the turkey too thin so she voiced her thoughts, resulting in Noelle screaming the house down, bitch slapping her sister after being told to calm down, and then throwing over the table so it ruined all the food when my Uncle Keith said he agreed with Coco.

It had been a fun day.

"My parents are telling my family today," James said quietly as Coco and Albus started to bicker again. "Although, I think most of them already know if what Albus told me was true." I gave him a questioning look. "That all of the younger ones of the family know. If that's true, most of the adults probably know, too, because my family can't keep secrets to save their damn lives."

"I know how it feels," I muttered, my eyes flickering to Coco.

"My mum asked me to give you this," he said, digging into his pocket and handing me a piece of paper. "She said it was something about a healer's appointment, but she's still in a mood with me so she didn't really explain it properly."

_Hello, Callie._

_As promised I got you an appointment with Healer Thane. The earliest she could do it December 29__th__ at three PM, so I booked it for you. If you can't go it's no problem, just tell me and I can rearrange. _

_Love, Ginny._

Feeling a little dazed, I pocketed the paper into my jeans and tugged on the ends of my hair. James eyed me suspiciously, but I ignored him, instead paying attention to Coco and Albus as they played with Sage as my Aunt Annie went to the bathroom. Albus was pretending to be a girl Polly Pocket and Sage was making him do the voice and everything. Coco was in kinks beside him, her face bright red and she was holding her stomach like she was in pain.

"What did the note say?"

I lolled my head back to James and bit my bottom lip, feeling tongue-tied though I didn't know why. "She booked me a healer's appointment with Healer Thane."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. For December 29th at three."

A few beats of silence passed. "Do you . . . do you want me to come with you?"

"The question is, James, do _you_ wantto come with me?"

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Kind of." I cocked my right eyebrow at him in which I hoped was an irked manner. "I mean, yeah, I do. It might be cool to see . . ."

"Yeah, maybe. Or it might freak you out and make you run off again," I answered bitterly.

"I won't," he deadpanned, his voice deep and brooding. "Okay, I _won't_. I've learnt from that, Callie, and I won't run again."

For the first time I noticed the little bruise on his cheek in the shape of a handprint. I must have slapped him harder than I thought I did. Feeling a little guilty, I didn't bite back and just turned my head away again. I heard James sigh, but pretended I didn't.

When things began to get too uncomfortable to stand, I walked over to the couch and sat down. James took a seat on the armchair and stared at me until he realized that I wasn't going to acknowledge him. I stayed silent for the next two hours, only idly listening and smiling while the other three chatted around me. James and Albus had to leave for dinner, so I hugged Albus and James gently patted my back in goodbye.

"Well, that went better than expected. I thought you'd bloody rip his head off or something," Coco laughed as we watched T.V.

"I would have if it wouldn't get me sent to Azkaban."

She barked in laughter and I smirked. We spent the rest of the day watching telly and talking about random stuff that came to mind. It was almost like old times again, and it made the fact that I was going to get a scan in a week that much more dwelling.

* * *

**Thoughts?**

**Not much goes on in this chapter, I know, but I thought it was necessary because it would be too jumpy if I just skipped straight to the Christmas dinner without explaining what happened the next day. Next is the Denison family dinner and some drama ;)**

**Thank you to everyone that reviewed, favourited and alerted! They mean a lot!**

**-Laylax**


	17. Christmas Day, moronic family and bitch

**Don't own anything except OC's.**

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**Chapter 17. Christmas Day, moronic family and bitch fights**

Even though didn't like the afternoon of Christmas Day, I enjoyed the morning. On the morning my intimidate family would repeatedly jump on my head until I woke up, I would shout and scream at them all, then we would go downstairs and open all of our presents together whilst Aunt Annie played her favourite Christmas CD in the background. At around twelve Bruce would go to see his mum, step-dad and little sister for two hours before we all went to see out Nana and Grandpa.

I wasn't going to let a little thing called pregnancy ruin my Christmas morning.

So the day after James and Albus left Coco and I went Christmas shopping in Diagon Alley with Sage and Bruce. It was hard picking up presents for everyone in the family because I knew no matter what we got, everyone would only exchange it in the end anyways. However, we weren't allowed to give anyone money because they think it's "impersonal". Three years ago Coco and I gave our cousins money they all got offended and went into a mood for the rest of the night, only talking to send rude comments or scoffing noises our way.

Yeah, my family's weird like that.

We got Sage a book, a mood ring, and a pair of sparkly red shoes she loved. I had bought Coco a pair of earrings during the summer from a magazine that were the shape or a flower and had our birthstone in, and a matching necklace. They were pretty pricey, but I knew she'd love them. Bruce was harder, he already had everything he wanted, thanks to his mum, so we bought him a tee-shirt with a picture of a smiling cat on that Coco thought was "_super _cute!".

Just what every teenage boy wants, a cute cat tee-shirt.

On Saturday, or Christmas Eve, Coco and I sat on our beds wrapping everyone's presents when there was knock on our door.

"WE'RE NAKED!"

"Merlin, Coco," I muttered, rubbing my now deaf ears. "Who is it?"

"Um, James."

_What_?

"Oh. Come in."

"B-but, aren't you naked?" his voice sounded slightly scared.

Coco giggled, but I was still in too much shocked to find it funny. "No. I was only kidding."

The door attentively opened and then James' head popped around the door. After seeing that we were in fact dressed, he stepped fully in and closed the door behind him.

"What are you doing here?" I blurted out, still buried under presents, wrapping paper and cards.

"I came to give you these," he said as he took a step towards me. However, his foot got caught on Coco's bed and he fell forward, landing on face first on my bed and sending wrapping paper all over the place.

I couldn't have even tried to stop myself as I laughed hysterically.

"Are you okay?" Coco questioned through her frantic sniggering.

James said something, but his voice was muffled by the bed. I heard him snort loudly before he pushed himself up and shook his head, making his hair even messier than it usually was. "Yeah. I really need to look where I'm going."

Once he had gathered himself and stood up again, he grabbed a hand full of something out of his back pocket, set it on the bed and then flicked his wand at them. Instantly, they turned into presents covered in Christmas patterned wrapped paper and each had a big red bow on top.

"That one's from Al and Rose," he pointed to the square shaped one, "that ones from Lily," he pointed to the smallest one, "that one's from my parents," he pointed to a rectangle shaped one, "and that one's from me," he pointed to squishy looking one.

"Oh, wow, thanks."

He nodded and turned to hand Coco a present from Al and Rose before turning his attention back to me. "Al was going to bring them around but I offered instead," he explained like it needed to be said.

"I didn't get you anything," I coughed awkwardly. I had already give Al and Rose theirs the day we broke up from school. "I didn't think you would want me too . . ."

"Its fine," James shrugged, not looking bothered. "What I got you wasn't much, but I just felt the need to get it for some reason."

"Well, thanks."

"You're welcome."

We stared at each for a while until it became extremely uncomfortable. I looked away and got up my feet, hoping my sudden movement and the way I was motioning to the door would make him leave. He didn't even move an inch, but instead he was staring at me in wonderment. Self conscious, I shuffled my feet and looked down to see what he was gazing at. I felt my stomach drop when I noticed that my tight bed top was showing off my small yet noticeable bump. Crossing my arms over it, I raised my eyebrows threateningly at him.

"Sorry," he cleared his throat and pretty much ran to the door. He grabbed the door knob and yanked the door open, only pausing to shout a panicked, "merry Christmas!" over his shoulder as he went.

"That went well." Coco stated cheerfully after a few beats of silence.

My response was to throw up all over the carpet.

After screaming and almost throwing up herself, Coco cleaned up the sick and then we went back to finishing the presents. After dinner, Aunt Annie forced us to go to bed so we could get up early the next morning. We complained and fought for a while but then Aunt Annie gave us her signature "don't piss me off" look and we all scrambled into our bedrooms, my dad laughing loudly behind us.

As usual, I was awoken by Coco jumping on my head and screeching, "ITS CHRISTMAS, BITCH!"

I threw her onto the floor, but was then ambushed by both Sage and Coco, I finally got up when Bruce joined in on the use-Callie-as-a-human-trampoline and let myself be taken downstairs and into the present filled living room. Coco and I took our usual place on the large couch and began to open our presents.

"What the hell are these?" I asked, picking up a rather strange looking pair of jeans.

Dad grinned widely at me. "Maternity jeans."

"Seriously?"

"Hey, you're going to need them soon, Callie."

"You're such a prune, dad."

The rest of my stuff were money, clothes, perfumes, shoes and books. We only had an hour to relax before we had to get ready to go to Nana's. After putting on a red jumper with white snowflakes on and a pair of (tight) jeans, I headed downstairs where only my dad was waiting. When he saw me he patted his knee and I climbed on like I did when I was a child.

"Merlin, Callie, you've put some weight on."

"Dad!" I shouted, smacking his chest.

He chuckled. "I'm joking, I'm joking! Don't ring my neck," he laughed and I huffed. "Where's Coco?"

"Putting her make-up on."

"Ah. Should've known." He glanced down at my stomach and then uneasily asked, "how's the baby?"

I shrugged. "Don't know. How am I meant to know if something I can't see or feel is okay?"

"Good question. I just thought I should ask."

"You look like you were asking me when I was going to kill you."

"Don't be overdramatic."

"Sadly, I wasn't."

He paled a little, but didn't reply. We sat in silence for a while again, me feeling around seven-years-old again as my dad began to fiddle with the end of my hair like he used to when I couldn't sleep. For once, I didn't care he was treating me like a child.

"How's Coco taking the news, anyway?"

"She's . . . handling it in her individual way."

"That doesn't sound good."

I smirked slightly, but then frowned when I saw how serious he looked. "I don't think she's really taking in the fact that I'm—_you know_. I think she thinks nothing will change in the end."

He nodded. "Sounds like Coco. How are _you _handling everything? I didn't really have time to ask you before I went on a killing spree of Potter boys."

I stopped myself from laughing. "I'm dealing," I replied softly. "Not very well, but I haven't jumped off the roof yet."

"That's always a good sign."

I sighed and leaned down to bring him into a gentle hug. "Thanks for not kicking me down the stairs and disowning me, daddy."

"I thought about it, but I think life would be pretty boring without you around. Who else would blow up the walls and set the kitchen on fire?"

"I'm sure Coco could have a go."

Aunt Annie and Sage came in through the front door after that so I got of my dad's knee and let Sage take my place. After my dad agreed to have Sage with Aunt Annie she bought the house next door so my dad could be apart of Sage's life once she was born. They basically lived at our home when Coco, Bruce and I weren't at school, but there wasn't enough room for them when we were back.

Sage wasn't conceived naturally but by a muggle thing called IVF that, even though it had been explained to me more times than I could count, I still didn't have a clue what went on. All I knew was that Aunt Annie hadn't found "the one" yet and she was desperate for a child of her own and felt her "biological clock" (yeah, I don't know either) was ticking. Dad joking offered to be the dad, but after thinking about it more they decided it wasn't actually a bad idea. After five months of talking it over, dad asked Coco, Bruce and I what we thought (and of course we said yes, all we heard was that we were going to have a little brother or sister), and a year after that Sage came screaming into our lives. Like, literally screaming, that was all she did when she was a baby. Scream, shit and whine.

Bruce arrived with all the presents he had gotten from his mum's side of the family and ran into his bedroom with everything balancing in his arms. Coco came down with him ten minutes later and it was time to go to nana's.

"Adrian!" nana beamed as soon as she saw dad. "Oh, I'm so glad you're here!"

She then proceeded to bring us all into a bone-crushing hug, Coco and I were together so our head's smacked off each other's, and then pranced off with Aunt Annie to talk about the twenty pound turkey she had bought for us all. Everyone was already there talking with each other (or shouting, depending on with way you look at it) and most hadn't even noticed our entrance.

Bruce went off with Felix, our younger cousin from Ravenclaw, and they began to play exploding snap in the corner. Sage danced over to Tonya, Gina and Roman, our other three younger cousins, and began to giggle away with them.

"Hey, Callie, Coco," Joshua, our only older boy cousin, grinned cheekily at us. He was one of my favourite cousins, most of them were morons. "Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas," I mumbled into his shoulder as he hugged me. "Has there been any fights yet?"

"Oh, yeah," Josh snickered, resting his arm on Coco's shoulders. "Kristina and Justine had a fight about who got the better present from Nana about ten minutes ago."

"Oh, brilliant."

I had five older cousins and Josh was the only boy. The other four were girls, Noelle, Justine (who were sisters), Natasha and Kristina (also sisters). For some reason since the day I can remember they had always had a strange family rivalry going on. They couldn't be around each other for more then fifteen minutes without a fight breaking out. Sometimes they were funny, but most of the time they just made you want to punch them in the neck.

I stood with Josh and Coco for around half an hour and then went to the toilet with Coco who insisted I had to go with her. I never understood why girls went to the toilet in packs. It was like they needed support to have a piss. Isn't going to the toilet meant to be a private thing? I hated it when people went with me to go to the toilet, it made me feel weirdly self-conscious about the fact that they could hear me.

But, whatever, other girls seemed to enjoy it.

"So are you telling nana about it?" Coco asked as she washed her hands.

"No. Dad's telling her once we go back to school."

"Why aren't you telling her?"

"Because I don't want to be beaten with a wooden spoon."

"Tell her after we eat, then."

"I'm _pregnant_, Coco. It's not something I can exactly casually put in while talking about how nice the sprouts are."

"Ew, I hate sprouts."

"What did I just hear?!" a voice called out and Kristina appeared by the doorway, smiling evilly.

"Um, I hate sprouts?"

"Not that," she snapped at Coco. She turned to me and smirked. "You're pregnant? Callie the wonder bitch, up the duff? Aren't you, like, ten or something?"

I didn't know whether to cry of slap her across the face.

"No." I bluffed, seeing whether she would believe me. "You need your hearing tested."

She snorted and crossed her arms defiantly over her chest. "Piss of, Callie. I know what I heard. Don't act high and mighty. Who did you shag, anyway?"

I swallowed thickly and glared resentfully at her. "No one. Mind your own business, Kristina."

"Do you really think you should talk to someone who could tell everyone your secret, Calliope?" she spat. "I could go in there right now and tell everyone."

"Do it." I challenged, though my stomach dropped.

She rolled her eyes like I was a child that had just stolen her lipstick. "I'm not that much of a bitch, Callie, Merlin, have some faith. Clearly, you don't want anyone to know, so I won't tell. As long as you do the same for me when I need you too."

Relief washed over me, but I didn't show it. I just nodded at her in thank-you and felt the fright prickling at my body slowly disappear. She seemed to sense my thankfulness and smiled at me, though it was more of an evil grin than a friendly grin. Then again, everything about Kristina was evil, so it was probably just a normal smile for her.

"Actually, I thought you were looking a little pudgier when I seen you," Kristina said smoothly as she went into the small room holding the toilet. "But I just thought you'd been eating too much chocolate or something."

I glowered at her. "Thanks, Kris. You look good, too."

"Oh, I know I do," she sniggered, closing the door.

Merlin, I hated her.

During the rest of the night Kristina sent me secretive smirks and winks that made my stomach churn every time. By the time dinner came around, she had smirked at me so many times I wondered how her lips hadn't permanently stuck into one. Her sister, Natasha, seemed to have caught on that there something fishy happening and kept sending me curious looks and on more than one occasion I caught her whispering in Kristina's ear. To give credit to her, Kristina hadn't said anything yet like I thought she would have. However, I knew she would hold it against me for the rest of my life.

Well, that's me never talking to her again.

The children of the family were seated at the right of the table while the adults were seated on the left, so I stuck between Justine and Felix, while Coco sat across from me with Josh on the right and Natasha on the left. Half way through the meal, Noelle screamed loudly and shot to her feet. I realized that her jeans were soaking wet and Kristina was laughing hysterically opposite her, her cup containing white wine spilt all over the table and obviously over Noelle.

"You bitch!" Noelle screeched, face turning bright red. Justine sprang into action and began to wipe off the wine from her sisters jeans with a napkin."You did that on purpose!"

Kristina laughed wildly, flinging her head back and everything while Natasha cackled beside her. "How did I possibly do that on purpose, Noelle?"

"She knocked it by _accident_," Natasha snickered. "Calm down, Noey."

Noelle yelled out again, at the blatant lie or the awful nickname, I didn't know. "Piss _off_, Natasha! This doesn't concern you!"

"Now, now girls," Noelle and Justine's mum, Aunt Peony, soothed from the top of the table. "It'll come out, Noelle, sit down."

"You're such a brat, Kristina," Justine snipped, ignoring her mum. "You act like you're the bloody Queen when in reality you're just a pathetic bitch that terrorises other people because she's so ugly, inside and outside, that no one likes her!"

Whoa, where the hell did _that _come from?

Even thought she's a twit, Justine was usually the quieter one of the four girls. When she was on her own, Justine was actually quite nice, but when she got around her sister and the devil twins, she changed into mega-bitch mode. Justine would sit with Noelle and be her moral support against dumb and dumber (Natasha and Kristina) and send insults when Noelle couldn't think of any fast enough.

At least, that's what I thought.

"Oh, please, Justine," Kristina bit back. "You're just still pissed off about Darren."

"He was _my boyfriend_!" Justine exploded, getting to her feet and glaring hatefully at Kristina. "And you _stole him_!"

Brenda, Natasha and Kristina's bitch of a mum, snorted from her seat down the table and carried on eating her salad that she insisted on eating as a Christmas dinner had, "too many carbs and I'll get ugly". She said that about everything though, ice-cream, chocolate, bread. One time, my Aunt Janie (Tonya and Roman's mum) pointed out that her carb phobia clearly wasn't going any good and she was ugly anyways. It was during a massive fight between them last year and Aunt Janie took it back later, but _damn_ it was funny.

"Girls!" Aunt Alana shouted.

They ignored her, except Natasha who sent Aunt Alana a death glare and flipped her the bird.

"Oh, honey, I can't help it if your boyfriend liked me better. You should learn how to please your man."

Just like that, Justine punched her in the nose. Can't say I didn't see it coming.

Kristina screamed and her hands flew to her face, Noelle laughed brightly, and Natasha threw her wine in Justine's face.

Merlin, this dinner was turning out better than expected. I felt the need for popcorn.

"Girls, stop it!" Uncle Eric yelled, aghast.

"Or maybe you should stop being such a slut!" Justine roared back, wiping the red wine from her face, though it still strained her green top into a strange shade of purple.

I glanced down the table and took in the outraged, confused and shocked faces of my face. My eyes landed on my dad and I had to stop myself from snorting. He had his right hand resting just above his eyebrows so it covered his eyes and was laughing silently, his lips stretched out into a wide smile. Aunt Annie was glaring at him, but even she couldn't stop her lips from twitching slightly. Sage, Tonya, Gina and Roman seemed to have got bored of the fight already and were having play fight with their plastic forks.

"How _dare_ you!" Kristina howled, also getting to her feet to stare the sisters down. "I'm not a slut, you're just a prude!"

Josh leaned over the table with an amused smile. "Ten galleons on Nat and Kris."

"You're on."

I shook his hand and started to silently cheer on Noelle and Justine as they continued the fight.

"Oh, please, if I went into a bar in Hogsmeade two out of every three men would have slept with you, Kristina!" Noelle bellowed.

"Coming from a girl that cheated on her boyfriend a year ago!"

"How _dare _you bring that up!"

"Girls, could you please—"

"You cheated on you boyfriend in seventh year!" Justine roared.

"Yeah, with yours," Kristina spat.

Justine looked about fit for murder by this point.

"At least I didn't get chucked out of the healer training!" Justine screamed, looking triumphant.

"WHAT?!"

"Oh, didn't you tell them?" Justine smirked sweetly as my Uncle Allan, having recovered from his frozen shock, looked downright furious at the end of the table. "Yeah, she turned up drunk one day a couple of weeks ago and they suspended her for three years."

Kristina looked desperate as she looked at the red face of her dad. Now, her mum also was recovering and glared at Kristina with such disappointment that even _I _wanted to cry. Kristina opened and closed her mouth a couple of times like a fish, then she pointed at . . . wait, _me_?

"Callie's pregnant!"

That was when everyone's attention turned to me.

_Son of a bitch_.

* * *

**Thoughts?**

**Thanks to everyone that favourited, alerted and reviewed! I know there isn't much James-Callie action but, realistically, Callie doesn't like nor want James around. Plus, I think this chapter is rather important... and it shows the craziness that is Callie's family.**

**Denison Family**

Samuel and Jane Denison (grandparents)

Peony and _Allan_: Noelle (2000; Gryffindor), Justine (2002;Hufflepuff), Joshua (2004; Gryffindor)

Brenda and _Barney_: Natasha (2001; Ravenclaw), Kristina (2003; Gryffindor)

Adrian: Callie and Coco, Bruce, Sage

Eric and _Alana_: Felix (2009; Ravenclaw), Gina (2013)

Janie and _Keith_: Tonya (2013) and Roman (2015)

_Italics means that they married into the family._

Thanks,

Laylax


	18. Raging Nana's, support and becoming a mu

**Don't own anything except OC's.**

* * *

**Chapter 18. Raging Nana's, support and becoming a mum**

Somewhere down the table a fork clattered onto a plate and someone started to choke violently on their food. However, no one's eyes flickered away from me. Goosebumps had erupted all over my body, a cold sweat was forming on my forehead, and I had the terrible urge to stab Kristina in the eye with a fork.

Who the hell did she think she was?

My eyes glanced at her and so actually had the decency to look apologetic, though I could tell she was glad the bad attention wasn't on her anymore. The thing I hated the most was that if the family were praising her about something she would have been gladly drinking it all in, smiling and flipping her hair over her shoulder. Merlin forbid if anyone tried to take the spotlight away from her, the last time Noelle had done that she was in St Mungo's for three days after mysteriously falling down the stairs.

My eyes went back to the shocked faces of my family and, for what felt like the hundredth time in my life, I wanted to be sucked up by a black hole and never be spat out.

"She's _what_?!"

The outraged shout came from my Aunt Peony who looked like she was about to have a seizure at any given second. The vouch of silence was shattered then and people were firing things from all over the place.

"_You're _pregnant? Who the hell would have sex with _you_?"

"Who is it, I'll kill him."

"HAHA! You're _so _dead!"

"Callie, how disappointing."

"I always knew she was a troubled child."

"So, Adrian, you're going to be a grandpa? How does _that _make you feel?"

"DEVIL CHILD!"

My head fell unconsciously to my hands and I rubbed my face with them, feeling incredibly overwhelming and having no way out of the situation. I just about to tear my hair out when something—or _someone_—stopped everyone.

"SHUT UP!"

Nana was seething down the end of the table, her hands slammed down, making everything jiggled slightly and my Uncle Barney's goblet tipped over at the impact. My Nana's blue eyes were blazing mad as she glared at every single person down the table with disgust.

"This was meant to be a lovely family meal!" she screamed. My Grandpa got up to calm her but she quickly shot him down. Easy to see who wore the pants in _that _relationship. "Christmas is a time of enjoyment and happiness, not petty arguments! How dare you come into my house and disrespect me like this!" she aimed at the four girls who were still stood up. Even I flinched at her stare. "You girls need to _grow up_! Noelle, stop taking a hissy fit about something that can be easily fixed," to empathize her point she flicked her wand and the wine stain was gone. "Justine, I can understand why you are angry, but it _certainly _not to be discussed around the dinner table! Natasha, you need to get your act together you are a young lady out in the real world and you are acting like a six year old!" she turned to Kristina with such a fire in her eyes, I'm pretty sure Kris wet herself. "And _you_. You're the worst of them all! Stop acting like a spoilt brat and get your act together! I have held my tongue too long with you and made excuses but enough is _enough_! Clean yourself up or you are never entering this house again! You need to sort out your priorities girl, or you won't make it in life, I promise you. Also, you need to mind your own business."

She turned to me, still angry but had softened slightly. "And Calliope, kitchen _now_."

Yeah, I pretty much shit my pants.

I obediently followed, but not before I heard Kristina burst into tears and Noelle whimper. Nana was stood near the cooker when I got into the kitchen and I silently stood opposite her, too scared to even look her in the eye.

"Calliope, look at me," I did and was surprised to see her smiling. "You look like I'm about to kill your dog, Calliope. So was what she said true, then?"

I nodded, she frowned and shook her head.

"Well, I can't say I'm not disappointed with you, Calliope. What were you thinking?"

"I wasn't." I choked after a few minutes.

"I expected more from you than this. I expect you're not going to abort the baby?"

I shook my head.

"I though not. However, I hope you are not depriving yourself of an education or work because of this, Calliope. You made this mistake and you are not going to let this baby suffer for it, too. You also need to get your act together if you're going to do this."

"I might be giving it up for adoption," I admitted quietly.

She nodded gravely. "I expected you to say that, to be honest. However, even if you do that, you still need to get yourself together, Calliope. Giving you child away is not something that can be done lightly or easily. You need to have a serious think about this. I can help you, if you'd like."

I nodded, unable to speak.

"Good. We'll get together and talk about it one day soon. Not now, obviously, but soon," she told me sternly. I agreed quickly and she smiled slightly. "You should have told me sooner, Calliope. I could have helped you from day one with this. Were you really that afraid of what I would think?"

"Well, yeah," I replied softly. "You're my nana. Of course I care what you think. Also, I kind of thought you'd rip my head off."

She laughed throatily. "I wouldn't do that, Calliope, you're my granddaughter. And believe it or not, this isn't the worst thing one of my grandchildren have done. And my children have done some pretty bad things in their lives. I've seen and done a lot more than you think I have, Calliope. I've learnt over the years to take everything in stride," she laughed thoughtfully. "I had to with this family. There was always something silly going on and if I did dwell, I would be a lot greyer than I am now."

"Thanks, Nana."

"Don't thank me, it comes with the job description," she winked. "Now, let's go and deal with the rest of the family, shall we?"

Kristina had stopped crying by the time we got out and the four girls started to apologize profusely to nana. She simply waved them off with a smile and led me back to the table. "Now, Calliope is pregnant," she stated strongly. Stronger than I could ever say it. "Deal with it. If you have any problems come to me, and I'll deal with them all."

Everyone around the table nodded robotically and Aunt Brenda sent me a disgusted look, like I was below her. Dad glared hatefully had her and "accidentally" dropped some gravy onto her lap. I snorted and smirked at her. Nana nodded at everyone, sent me back to my seat and then told everyone to continue eating their dinners.

"Tell me who the dad is," Joshua hissed, ear's going red. "I'll hunt him down and ring his neck."

"No, Josh. Leave it."

"Tell me!"

"No."

"Tell me, please?" he pouted, making the puppy dog eyes at me. I literally melted at the sight.

Damn, this baby was making me weak.

"No."

"Dammit!" he swore, stomping his foot like a child. "I'll find out one day, Callie, and when I do, be _afraid_. Be _very afraid_."

I glared at him and threw a potato at his head that hit him right in between the eyes.

"Ha, legend," Justine sniggered from beside me. Natasha sent me a revolted look like I had eaten a pile of Hippogriff dung and turned her nose up at me before continuing her conversation with Kristina, who was avoiding my eyes and pretending she hadn't done anything wrong.

When Natasha sent me another look, Noelle leaned in closer to her. "Eyes off, Natasha, or I'll tell everyone about what you did at the Hogshead Christmas party last year."

Natasha didn't glance my way for the rest of the night.

Suddenly, I was beginning to like Noelle and Justine for the first time ever. Weird, huh?

After dinner we gathered around the couches like always and I ignored the looks everyone was giving me. I caught at least seven people all staring at my stomach like it was absolutely massive instead of a tiny bump that was concealed by my jumper. Aunt Alana blushed when I caught her looked and turned her attention back to her kids, Felix and Gina. My Uncle Keith looked completely grossed out as he looked at me and then when I caught his eyes he flushed bright red, mouthing something that looked like "weird" before he went back to talking to his wife, my Aunt Janie.

Even Grandpa couldn't look at me without looking appalled by the very concept of me having a child in my uterus. I tried to make conversation with him halfway through the night but all he did was blush, stumbled over a couple of words and then finally blurted, "when did my grandchildren start having_ sex_?". He avoided me for the rest of the night and went into the corner with my Uncle Barney and they glanced at me more than once while they whispered to each other.

The only person that could really talk to me was Joshua, but all he said all night was, "TELL ME WHO THE DAD IS!". So this time _I _ended up avoiding _him_ instead of the other way around. Uncle Eric tried to make conversation, but his eyes dropped to my stomach every five seconds so I just let him be and stayed in the opposite corner to my Grandpa and Uncle Barney by myself and wished desperately to be at home.

An hour later, I got my wish and I quickly hugged my nana after dad announced it was time for us to go.

"Owl me any time, Calliope," nana whispered, kissing both my cheeks before moving onto Coco. "And I hope you had a good Christmas, Cordelia."

Coco scrunched her nose up at her full name, but managed to smile, too. "Brilliant one, thanks."

I impatiently waited as everyone said goodbye and was the first one in the floo network to go home. I plopped onto the couch and crossed my legs underneath me.

"That was the worst Christmas ever," I whispered thickly as Aunt Annie sat beside me.

"Really? I thought you would have enjoyed the shouting match between the girls," she smirked. Dad had conjured the sofa-bed out with his wand and was now laying a sleeping Sage down in the covers.

I chuckled lightly. "Yeah, I did, until Kristina shouted about me being pregnant."

"Yeah, it was hilarious up until that point," Bruce agreed, sitting beside me and resting his head on my shoulder. "I've never realized how much of a bitch Kristina is."

"Don't swear," dad muttered.

Bruce rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. As I was saying, after Kris shouted about you being up the duff things went pretty sour."

"You think? People couldn't stop looking at me for the rest of the night," I sniggered bitterly.

"They're all just shocked," dad said after successfully putting Sage down. "They need time to adjust. Next week, Joshua will have been in a fight at a bar again and this whole thing will be forgotten."

"Even by Aunt Brenda?"

Dad scoffed. "Her? I don't count her as a person. She's a bitch."

"If I'm not allowed to swear, neither are you," Bruce primed cheekily.

Dad jokingly pushed him in the face and Bruce giggled. "I've hated her since the day she stole my Weird Sisters CD and never gave me it back."

"I'm still sure you broke that, Adrian," Aunt Annie sighed, to which my dad just waved his hand at her. "But even I agree she is quite an unpleasant person."

I rolled my eyes, trust Aunt Annie to find a way to primly and properly call someone a bitch.

"If only she knew what her precious daughters got up to on a weekend," Coco put in giggling. "Then she wouldn't be able to call anyone without shaming her daughters."

"Bitchiness must run in the family," I responded, earning a glare from my dad. I stuck my tongue out at him and he laughed softly.

We split up after that and Coco and I went to get changed into our pyjamas to watch a movie when I caught sight of presents near my bed. I had forgotten to put the Potter family presents around the tree so as Coco got into the shower, I opened them.

Al and Rose got me dress I had seen in _Witch Weekly _a few weeks ago and said was nice. It was a knitted creamy coloured dress with hole patterns cut out along the stitching. They had written out a card saying, _MERRY CHRISTMAS, CALLIE! Hope you like your presents and have a wonderful day!_

I set it down on the bed and went to the smallest package that I knew to be Lily's. _Hey, Callie! Merry Christmas! Hope you like your present and say hi to the baby for me!_ She had written on a small card with a snowman on. It was a pair of gold earrings in the shape of a snitch that had one single diamond in the right corner of the circle on each one. Smiling, I set them on top of the dress.

I opened Harry and Ginny's next, a little hesitant to open James' though I didn't know why. _Merry Christmas, Callie. We hope you have a lovely day and that this will help you out ;) _It was a large thick book that I had opened back to front, when I turned it over I almost dropped it after seeing the title. _A Witches guide on becoming a Mum. _Oh dear Merlin.

Shaking, I set the book down, too, and took hold of James present. _Hey, Callie, and Merry Christmas. I hope you have a good day. James x. _The first thing I saw was a red tee-shirt with the Gryffindor picture on the front. Underneath the picture of the lion were the words "Proud Gryffindor!" in shimmering gold. I rolled my eyes, how very _James_. When I set down the tee-shirt something slipped off the top and landed onto the bed. It was a black, leather rectangle box and I bent down to flick it open. Inside was a silver heart shaped locket on a thin chain. When I looked closer, there was a small flower that looked like a rose in the bottom right corner and the word "Mummy" in the middle. Heart thumping, I took hold of the locket and turned it over to see the other side was covered around the edges in vines and had a small lily flower in the right hand corner. What caught my eye, however, was that in the middle was the word "baby" in the same fancy inscription as the word mummy.

I dropped the box onto the bed and sprinted into the bathroom to spew down the toilet. I faintly heard Coco make a disgusted sound at the noise I made, but I could hardly take it in.

I was going to be a _mummy_.

I threw up again.

_Shit._

* * *

**Thoughts?**

**Sorry for the long wait but I've had a lot of work recently and I needed to concentrate on that. But I've finally finished it and I'm waiting for my results, but no doubt I'll have another file load next week. **

**Anyway, thank you so much for the favourites, alerts and reviews! They mean a lot and brought me out of my work induced coma to bring this chapter out for you all. Hope it was worth it!**

**Thanks, **

**Laylaxx**


	19. Surprise visitor, alien-peanut baby and

**Don't own anything except OC's.**

* * *

**Chapter 19. Surprise visitor, alien-peanut baby and bitch glare**

The necklace was shoved into my underwear draw and I had the plan to never take it out again. The day after Christmas I spent in my bed with a violent case of pregnancy sickness, headaches and muscles pain. I actually quite liked it, people brought me my food, I watched reruns of _Friends_, an old TV programme Aunt Annie loved, and I didn't get changed out of my pyjamas.

Days passed until it was the day for my scan. My dad and Aunt Annie had gone back to work, Sage was at grandma's, Bruce was at his mums and Coco was sat on her bed bugging me, as per usual.

"What if it turns out to be twins? Or an alien? Or a puppy?"

I tugged on my purple jumper and raised my eyebrows at her through the mirror. "I shagged Potter, Coco, not a bloody reptile."

"Alien's aren't reptiles, Callie, they're extraterrestrials."

I snorted. "You have a wild imagination, Co."

There was a knock at the bedroom door so I walked over and yanked it open.

"Hey, ready to go?" James asked casually.

"What?" I spluttered. "You're coming?"

"Of course I'm coming," he scoffed like I was the weird one here. "I told you I was going to make it up to you and be there, this is the start."

"But Coco—"

"Is going to visit Albus. See yah!" she shouted over her shoulder, winking and smirking.

I hate her.

I contemplated sending him a way for ten seconds then voted against it. There was no one else to go with and I didn't want to do this alone. Sighing dejectedly, I threw on my converses and coat, hopping a little as I joined James in the hallway. He grinned at me and ran a hand through his hair. Why was he so happy all of a sudden? Knobhead.

"Are we apparting or floo—are you allowed to appart?"

"No."

"Flooing it is, then," he snorted, motioning for me to go first down the stairs. Eyeing him curiously, I jogged down and took the floo powder from the cupboard.

"I'll go first," I said, fisting a handful of the powder. "Follow after me in about thirty seconds."

He nodded as I climbed into the fireplace. I swirled, curled and span until I landed in the lobby of St Mungo. Near the back was a reception area with people queuing up to talk to one of the three women at the front.

Unconsciously, I had taken several steps forward until I nearly at the line. I turned back to the fireplace just in time to see James land, coughing and wiping dirt off his jumper. Even seeing him made me feel weird. I didn't know whether it was a good weird or a bad weird, though.

As I walked to my side I saw a young woman in the queue next to us point and whisper to her friend. They giggled, blushed and turned away when they saw me looking at them. I glanced at James again and saw him looking to see how long the queue was. I always forgot he was famous. I thought of him as a stupid twat, but other people thought of him as _cool… sweet... a role model. _

Merlin, I'd freaked myself out.

"Hello, we're here to see Healer Thane," James said before I could open my mouth.

"Name?" the woman asked in a bored tone.

"James Potter."

The woman perked up immediately and looked at James with wide eyes. "O-o-of course, Mr. Potter," she stumbled. In her haste to get her pen, she knocked over her book so all the papers scattered along the floor. She swore and then flushed bright red. "S-sorry. Just go through," she ordered hurriedly.

I sniggered.

"I always have that effect on women," James boasted as we walked down the hallway.

I rolled my eyes and looked for the door with name Healer Thane on. "Sure you do. They're probably scared that you report them to you dad or something."

He laughed. "My dad wouldn't listen to me anyway."

Her office was two doors from the end on the left. Gulping, I knocked on the door and patiently waited. A middle-aged woman opened the door and smiled warmly at me. Nervous, I smiled back as she ushered us into the room.

"Hello, Miss. Denison, I'm Healer Dana Thane," she shook my hand and then James. "Hello, Mr. Potter."

She showed us to a room down the hallway, to the left and through a heavy door. Some pregnant women were walking around and there was even one in labour on a wheelchair. She led us to a room near the back that had a bed, a complicated looking machine, two seats and an on suite bathroom. She instructed me to lay down on the bed and I obeyed.

"Okay, lift up your top," she said. Heart thumping, I pulled up the top until it rested just under my bra. "I'm going to say a couple of spells and then the picture will appear on this screen." She pulled over the machine, pressed a button and a big, rectangle black screen popped out.

She got her wand from her back pocket and muttered some words that I couldn't process. Nervousness was washing over my like a tsunami wave. What if there was something wrong? What if there really were twins? What if this baby was an alien and I didn't even know it?

I was going to faint in the middle of a pregnancy scan, I'm pretty sure that's never been done before.

And then there was a fast drumming thumping through my ears and a black and white picture appeared on the screen. My eyesight had gone fuzzy during my internal freak out so I had to blink a few times, but then it came into focus. There was a peanut shaped object laid on its side. I watched it in fascination for a moment, almost screaming when it moved and waved, what I guessed, was an arm.

Holy shit.

"Here's your baby."

"It looks like an alien," James whispered quietly. I looked at him in shock, I had forgotten he was even there. Too shocked to say anything, I nodded in agreement.

Healer Thane chuckled softly. "I suppose it does. Most people say a peanut."

James cocked his head to the side and barked out in laughter. "Oh, yeah, it does. That's weird."

"I'm estimating you're twelve weeks pregnant," she told me after moving the wand again. I stared at the screen in amazement for a couple of more minutes until Healer Thane took her wand away and tucked the screen back into its holder. "Do you mind me asking some questions?"

I shook my head, words caught in my throat.

"Okay. What date did you conceive?"

"Umm…"

"September 24th, my sister's birthday," James answered strongly.

I breathed heavily, "yeah."

"Do any of you have a history of miscarriages or still born babies?" Healer Thane asked after scribbling down on her clipboard.

"No." we answered together.

She asked some more questions about our family's histories, my diet, exercise and my medical history. She asked the same things from James before disappearing to print of the scan pictures. After the door slammed shut, I let out a long breath I didn't know I had been holding.

"Well, at least it's not twins," James murmured after a stretch of awkward silence.

"Or a puppy."

He snorted. "What?"

"Coco."

That was all I needed to say for him to understand where it came from. That almost made me laugh. Almost. Silence washed over us again and I shifted awkwardly on the bed. I tried to think of something to say but to be honest I didn't have anything to say to him. Thankfully, Healer Thane came into the room with a big white envelope.

"There's a photo for each of you in there," she said, handing me the envelope. I stared at it for a second before shoving it in James' hand. We made another appointment for my 20 week scan and talked for a little while about what I should start doing to make sure the baby was healthy as possible before James and I walked away from the hospital.

I couldn't believe I had just heard the baby's heartbeat. Of course, I knew I was pregnant and it had to be alive considering my stomach was getting bigger everyday, but it hadn't seemed very real until this moment. The baby inside me was _alive_. It was hard to process the words as I thought about the moving baby inside me. It was real and I needed to wake up and smell the roses before I drove myself and the baby insane. I needed to eat healthier, I needed to do some exercise, I needed to stop running around, I needed to make sure my stomach was protected at all times. I needed to make sure this baby was safe.

"What are you thinking about?" James asked as we slowly made our way back to reception.

I dug my hand further into my pockets and watched as my feet sluggishly made their way forward. "The baby," I replied honestly. "Pretty weird that it's got a heartbeat and stuff, isn't it?"

"What did you expect, Callie? It is a person and people have heartbeats," he smirked.

"I know, it's just weird to think there's something other than food in there," I responded and he laughed. "It's also weird that it's my son or daughter kicking around in there."

His eyes glanced down at my stomach and then back up to my face. "Yeah, I know what you mean."

"Of course you do," I said softly. "It's your son or daughter, too."

He stared off in front of him after that, mindlessly looking ahead as we walked back into the reception area. Without speaking about it, James followed me home and we both sat on the couches in the living room in silence. It was strange hearing nothing instead of the usual screams and shouts that my family created. James dropped the envelope onto the coffee table and we both stared at it like it was something incredibly interesting.

"Wanna look at it?" he asked after about fifteen minutes.

"Mmmhmm."

He delicately picked it up and took out the picture. The sheet was thick and shiny under the lights of the living room. He looked at it for a minute of two and then carefully walked over to sit next to me so I could see it over his arm. It looked just like it had on screen, a page full of blurry black and white, then in the middle sat an alien looking thing that was obviously the baby cooking inside me.

"It looks like a boy."

I glanced at him with furrowed eyebrows. "How?"

"I don't know, it just does," he shrugged.

"You're stupid."

"Thanks."

"There is no way you can tell it's a boy right now."

"I have a feeling."

"Oh, brilliant, we're basing this argument on a feeling."

"My feelings are usually right."

"I've never heard so much bullshit in my life."

"Callie! Coco!" the front door swung open to reveal my dad. He dropped he briefcase beside the door and hung up his blazer. "What do you want for tea—oh, you're there." He said, his eyes narrowed when he saw James. "And Potter."

"Hello, sir."

My dad bitch glared him. I suddenly saw where Coco had gotten it from.

There was a tense silence in which no man backed down from the stare-off. James seemed to be calm and collected, though I imagined he was shitting it, while my dad glared at James like he was the devil reincarnated. I refrained myself from rolling my eyes and instead took the picture from James' hands to stare at it again. For some reason, I couldn't stop looking at it.

"Is that the scan?" dad questioned, dropping his bitch stance to walk over and snatch the picture from me. Rude.

"Yep. Weird, huh?"

My dad stared at it in wonderment and awe before saying, "it looks like you, Cal."

That was even worse than the "it looks like a boy" thing.

"Really, dad? _Really_?"

He nodded, not taking in my incredulous tone and placed the picture on the fireplace. It made me uncomfortable. What if one of his friends saw it, did the connections and leaked it to the press? I didn't argue though, my dad looked too happy to spoil it mood right now. I at least owed him that. He stole one more look at the picture before disappearing into the kitchen, muttering something about making tea for everyone.

"Maybe you should get home," I said to James. "I'm going to take a bath and stuff anyway."

His face fell a bit but he got to his feet. "Yeah, mum probably wants me back for food," he grabbed the envelope from the table. "Mind if I take the other one? My family want to see it."

"Sure, it's for you anyway."

"Thanks . . . so I'll see you later, then?"

"Sure, I suppose."

"Bye."

"Bye."

For a second, he looked like he was going to hug me but shook his head, waved and apparted away. Once he was gone, I laid on the couch and just stared at the scan picture. I needed time to think, to be alone. The scan had not helped me like I thought it would, it had in fact brought more questions, worries and wonders. Did I want to keep the baby? Was James going to stick around? Should I trust him? Should I look at adoption agencies? Should I have a chocolate cake after dinner?

God, I wish I had answers.

* * *

**Thoughts?**

**Sorry this took so long but I've been busy with Christmas things and school work, but it's finally out! Thanks for the reviews, favourites and alerts!**

**Laylaxx**


	20. Going back to school, twisting nipples a

**Don't own anything except OC's.**

* * *

**Chapter 20. Going back to school, twisting nipples and helpful conversations**

I spent the rest of break cooped up in my house watching old movies and eating shit with Coco, Bruce and Sage. On New Year's eve we had our annual epic snowball fight in the backyard, but of course I couldn't _really _join in because I wasn't allowed to do "heavy exercise" until the baby was born. Aunt Annie forbad me from running so I was always hit, _very_ _softly_, with a snowball every time one was aimed at me. Still, it was fun to hang out with my family before I went back to school for another term.

Then the day of going back to Hogwarts came around and I was dreading every second of it. I wasn't ready to be around everyone yet and with my bump growing more and more everyday I was constantly afraid that someone was going to figure it out and/or blackmail me. I tried on at least ten different outfits before I found a baggy enough jumper to cover my stomach and packed every piece of clothing that was either too big for me or deliberately very baggy.

"COME ON! WE'RE GOING TO BE LATE!"

"Annie, we have half an hour calm down!"

"Don't tell me to calm down, Adrian, or I'll hex you again!"

Dad stayed quiet. Smart man.

I lugged my trunk down the stairs only for it to be ripped from my grasp by my dad seconds later. He muttered something about me not carrying heavy things and that I'm an idiot before walking over to the floo network and requesting us all to follow. Bruce all but sprinted to his friends the moment we stepped onto the platform, leaving his things for Aunt Annie to carry. There were a lot of people buzzing around the too small space and I found myself taking deep breaths to calm my thumping heart down. It didn't help when I seen Linda and Megan gossiping near the train with some Hufflepuff's. Were they whispering about me? Had the press found out?

"Hi!"

"Merlin," I spat at Albus as he laughed brightly. "You dickhead. You scared the shirt out of me."

"You don't want her to pop that thing out here, do you?" Coco sniggered.

I reached over to hit her but Rose stopped me.

"No." she scolded like I was a child trying to snatch a toy. "That's naughty."

We all sent her weird looks and she smiled, giggling.

"I'm practicing!" she announced loudly as a bunch of Ravenclaw's passed by. "For when the baby—"

"Shut up, shut up right now," I jumped to cover her mouth with my hand. She spluttered and tried to whack me away, but I was having none of it. "From this moment on no one is allowed to say the world 'baby', got it?"

I must have sounded really terrifying by the way their faces paled and I was actually quite proud of myself. Just as I dropped my hand from Rose's mouth someone ruffled my hair and said, "Alright, Callie-bean? How's the offspring?"

Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy better get another child because I'm about to kill their only son.

"Offspring isn't allowed either!"

"Whoa," Scorpius dragged out, holding his hands up in defence. "What'd I do?"

"You were born."

"Ouch. I hope you don't say that to your kid."

My palm automatically reached to slap my forehead and Scorpius snickered evilly. My hands twitched to ring his pale little neck but when I looked up he was gone. Sighing, I went over to hug my dad, Aunt Annie and Sage goodbye. Sage started to cry and it took me ten minutes to calm her down enough for her to let go of my neck so I could get onto the train.

"Write more!"

I rolled my eyes at my dad's voice and hopped through the door. Coco had found a compartment with the rest near the middle of the train so I headed down that way until I bumped into something hard. The person chuckled and I glanced up only to see my ex-boyfriend, Gary Bones.

Fuck my life.

"Hey there, Callie," he smiled charmingly at me.

I scowled hatefully. He was the whole reason I was in this mess in the first place. If I hadn't caught him shacking it up Chelsea Vane then I wouldn't have been hurt the night of Lily's party, meaning I wouldn't have shagged James, meaning I wouldn't be currently wearing a jumper with the picture of Rudolph with a flashing red nose on to cover up my bump.

He could jump off this now moving train for all I cared.

"Fuck off, Bones," I snapped at him, attempting to push my way through. However, the narrow hallway left little room for me to get through thanks to Gary's wide shoulders, so I just rebounded back.

"Oh, come on, Callie! You're not still angry about me and Chelsea are you?" he laughed freely. "That was such a long time ago now and you're being stupid—OW!"

Without really thinking it through, I had reached up and twisted his nipples with my fingers. Even for me that was weird—hell, even for _Coco_ it would have been weird. I remembered one time when Rose did it to Scorpius and he cried for three days about his bruised nipples. Apparently, it really hurts if you grab them right and according to Gary's face, I had grabbed them perfectly. It took everything I had in me not to laugh at him.

"_What the fuck did you_—"

"Is there a problem here?"

The voice made me jump away from Gary's agonized and furious face to look down the hallway. Louis and Freddie were leaned against the corner of a compartment looking at Gary with a stern and daring expression. I had a feeling that expression wasn't just because he was currently screaming in my face, but partly because Gary was the captain of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team and for some reason, Quidditch teams in our school didn't like each other. Albus hated it when I was dating Gary and was always giving him dirty looks when he sat beside during dinner or waited for me outside the portrait hole. After Gary cheated on me he mysteriously turned bright pink whilst eating dinner and I knew it had been Al's work, though I had never asked him about it.

Gary glared at them, too. Like I said, Quidditch rivalry. "No, not at all," he said strongly. "Callie and I are just having a conversation."

"Looks like more than that to me," Louis raised his eyebrows at me.

I shrugged, I was going to hex Gary before they came so I was kind of grateful they had turned up (they had saved me a detention, no doubt Gary would have ran to the head girl screaming like a bitch), but I also wanted Gary in pain, so I wanted them to leave.

Freddie cracked his knuckled threateningly. Oh, Merlin.

"Gary, move out of my way," I spat. "Before I knee you in the balls and make you regret the day you were born."

Being pregnant and hormonal was working wonders for me. Gary skimped off immediately, looking quite scared if I do say so myself.

"What happened?" Freddie asked as soon as he was gone.

"He was being a dick."

"As usual," Louis snorted.

I nodded, I couldn't disagree. "He was saying stuff about me being stupid and I snapped," they looked like they wanted more so I continued. "I twisted his nipples."

"I'm sorry?"

Despite myself, I laughed at their confused and downright freaked out expressions. "I twisted his nipples," I repeated. "It's meant to really hurt and it was the first thing that came to my mind. You know, right after throwing him out of the window, but I didn't want to be sent to Azkaban quite yet."

"That's hilarious," Louis boomed. "I've never heard of it before in my life!"

"I need to try that one on Dylan," Freddie muttered. "He stole my chicken."

I turned on my heels and walked further down the hallways in search of my friends. With everything that had been going on lately I had totally forgotten about Gary. We had dated for two months and a month before that we hung out a lot "as friends". I had thought he was nice and sweet, a gentleman. Maybe it was because he was my first boyfriend, or maybe I was just stupid, but I didn't think anything of it when he used to randomly realize he had Quidditch training at weird times. That was until I walked down a quiet hallway on the way back from detention one night and found him practically shagging Chelsea in the corner of the hallway. I was too shocked to say anything at that moment, instead I rushed back to the common room and confined in Albus. I broke up with him the next day after pushing him down the stairs.

It had hurt, not because I had fallen for Gary or because he was the perfect boyfriend. After all, I hardly knew the bloke, but because I hated the fact that he thought he mess around with me. What was the point? He went through all that pretending just so he could fuck and chuck me? Why didn't he just go after Natalia Mclaggen, I'm sure she would have been happy to oblige.

When I did get to the compartment I saw that James and his friends were hanging around near the door talking to them all. Carly and Dom waved shyly at me as I passed by, probably awkward about everything that had taken place in the past month. James was leaned against the door chatting to Coco and Rose so I tried to slip past, but tripped on his foot and fell into him.

"Hello to you, too," James grinned after steadying me.

"I tripped."

"I saw," he smirked and I rolled my eyes. "How—"

"OW! WHAT THE BLOODY HELL!" Dylan screamed shrilly, holding onto his biceps in agony.

Derrick, who was stood next to his brother, gave Freddie a rather baffled look. "Did you—did you just twist his nipples?"

Freddie nodded. "That's for stealing my chicken, idiot." He said to Dylan who was now withering on the floor.

"Callie's just did it to Gary Bones," Louis explained like that was a normal conversation. "And Freddie thought it was a good idea."

"Why did you do that?" Coco gasped, looking at me.

"He was saying something about her being stupid."

"Thanks, Louis," I put in sarcastically. "You're a real help."

He grinned cheekily.

"He called you stupid?" Scorpius mumbled through a mouth full of liquorice wands. "Want me to beat him up?"

"Ha," Rose snorted. "Like you could beat up Gary Bones."

Scorpius swallowed his food and glowered at her. "I could _so _beat him up," he flexed his muscles overdramatically. "Look at these bad boys."

Dear Merlin, what am I friends with?

"He called you stupid," James asked as I took a seat beside where he was stood. "_He_ called _you _stupid? The words "black" and "kettle" come to mind. He can't even do a Porskoff Ploy." He scoffed like that was the worst offence to ever happen.

"He once asked me if girls fart," Coco said casually as she opened her sweet. "I think he was being serious, too."

I thought about this for a moment, how had I not realized how idiotic he was when we dated?

Freddie thought this would be the perfect time to speak. "_Do_ girls fart?"

Carly hit him with her shoe and Rose kicked him in the knee. I couldn't reach far enough to hurt him so I settled for sending him a dark look.

Somehow, the people standing outside fit into the compartment with us, so we were so squished it wasn't even funny. Coco had vacated onto Louis' knee while Dom made a scramble for Derrick's knee. Dylan, Freddie and Ethan sat on the floor and the rest wiggled into a space on the seats. I was wedged in between Albus and James like a filling in a sandwich.

"Merlin, couldn't you have just gone into another compartment?" Rose snapped as Coco almost slipped of Louis knee, smacking Rose's head in the process.

"No. We like to be together," Freddie said sweetly.

"We're going back to school," I grunted, pulling my arm from behind Al's back as it began to go dead. "We'll see each other all the damn time. I'm sure you could have lasted a few hours."

"You're carrying my second cousin. I'm entitled to be around you," he replied.

I full on death glared. He flinched slightly. "You really suck."

"Aw, thanks!"

_What was wrong with these people?!_

First, they wanted nothing to do with me and now they're sticking to me like a hairy mole to my face. Freddie, and the others, didn't think they were "entitled" to get to know their second cousin two weeks ago, did they? But as soon as James comes back and shows that he's going to "support" me they think they can just casually act like nothing happened? I wasn't going to forget (as evident, I wasn't a forgiving person). The only people that wanted something to do with me were the Potter's and Rose. The others acted like I had caught the plague from James, not got knocked up by his highly fertilizable sperm.

No one noticed when I got to my feet and walked out and down the hallway. No one was around so I went to the end and looked out the window as the countryside zoomed past. The window was open, giving me a wash of fresh air that I needed.

"Freddie's a douche," a voice said, interrupting my peace. "Don't listen to him."

I turned to see James as he leaned on the wall beside me. "He's not that bad," I whispered.

"Then why are you upset?"

"I'm not upset."

"Yes you are. What's wrong?"

"I'm not _upset_!" I screamed and to my horror tears sprang into my eyes.

He raised his eyebrows and angled his body to me. "Cleary. You're practically singing the Dixie chicks right now," he replied sarcastically. "Stop kidding yourself, you're clearly upset about something and if it's not Freddie, who is it?"

"It's everyone!" I burst. A passing Ravenclaw sent me a worried look and I coughed awkwardly. "Everyone's just too much right now."

"Do you want me to tell them to back off?"

"No… no I don't want you to do that," I sighed. "It just—it annoys me that they avoided me when you weren't here and now you're suddenly back they're 'entitled' to be around me? If they wanted to get to know their cousins so much why had they avoided me like I had the fucking plague?"

James looked a little uneasy but was still looking me in the eye. "They're Gryffindor's," he answered plainly. "Which means they're stupidly loyal. I might have been a complete arsehole but I had still been their best friend for most of their lives. I suppose they felt like they had to know I was okay with it for them to be okay with it."

"That's pathetic."

He shrugged. "That was how we were made. Look at it this way, if Albus had gotten someone pregnant and he ran away would you have become best friends with the girl?" I stayed silent because I didn't want to voice what I really thought. No. "Exactly. You would have wanted Albus to come back and see that he was okay before you became buddy-buddy with the girl. It's just like that, but different people," he paused. "If it makes you feel any better Dom and Carly feel awful, but they just didn't know what to do. They wanted to be friends with you, they told me over break, but they didn't know what to do because of me. Actually, blame me for them avoiding you. I might as well get that added onto my list of shitty things I've done in my life."

"What?"

"Carly made it in third year after I made Freddie break up with my girlfriend for me," he explained, blushing. "It was stupid, really. She said from now on she was going to write down everything us guys did that we had to make up for one day. During this past month and a half I think she's added about fifteen things to my list."

"That's actually smart," I nodded. "Especially with you lot."

"I think so, too. Though Freddie hates it, I think his list is longer than everyone else's put together. Carly is particularly hard on him."

"Poor Freddie… actually, that's hilarious. Can I see it one time?"

"Sure. I'll get Carly to show you it."

I smiled slightly at him as I realized this was one of the first proper conversations we'd had not only since he had come back, but _ever_. Not only that, but it was to help me out. It felt strange feeling something other than lust and hate for James. I was so used to glaring at him, it was almost foreign to be grateful towards him.

"Well, thanks," I said uncomfortably. "That helped."

"It's fine. Like you said, I owe you big time."

"Although, I don't think it's entirely my fault I'm so messed up in the head right now," I huffed, leaning back onto the window. "The baby is making my hormones go insane. I'm crying even more than I did when I was a kid."

"I can imagine," James laughed suddenly. "If you think you've got I bad you should have seen my mum when she was pregnant. I remember her having Lily and I can safely say it was the scariest nine months of my entire life."

"What are you guys doing?" Albus popped into our conversation. "I thought you went to take a piss."

"I did, we stopped to get some fresh air because Callie was feeling sick," James lied smoothly before I could even open my mouth.

"Oh," Al's bright green eyes glanced to the open window. "Okay. Are you alright now?"

"I'm good," I replied, punching his arm. "Let's go and get our organs squished again, shall we?"

He laughed and pulled me into the compartment again.

"Damn, Callie, that was a long piss! Is he baby squashing your bladder or something?"

This time, I didn't care about Freddie's jab. Instead I laughed along with everyone else and settled in between the Potter brothers. Maybe things were beginning to look up.

* * *

**Thoughts?**

**Sorry about the ****_very_**** late update but I've had a busy time with Christmas and New Year's and Boxing day and studying for exams... yeah, I've had a busy holiday. Anyway, I've finally got this chapter out! **

**-Laylaxx**

**P.S. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!**


	21. Naught boys books, new friends and Natal

**Don't own anything except OC's.**

* * *

**Chapter 21. Naught boys books, new friends and Natalia McLaggen**

"So you wrote every single one down?" I asked in awe as I flicked another page of Carly's notebook.

She giggled. "Yep. Well, maybe not _every_ one, but the ones I know about. I'm sure they've kept things from me in the past few years."

"We haven't kept anything from you, Carl," Derrick piped in. "We wouldn't dare."

"Especially with Ethan around," Freddie muttered. "He can't keep secrets to save his damn life."

Ethan looked offended. "Hey, I kept the on about you accidentally hitting on a man in—oh, shit."

Freddie whacked his head repeatedly off the table as every set of eyes turned to him.

"Freddie," Rose leaned forward seriously. "Do you have something to tell us?"

He looked up and glared, his forehead slightly red. "Shut up, Rose. It was an accident."

"Are you sure?"

"He looked like a girl from the back," he cried. "I swear."

"He did," James agreed. "I was there. He had really nice hair."

This time he got the weird looks.

I decided to stop the conversation there and handed Carly back her 'naughty boys' notebook. We had arrived at Hogwarts a week ago. Our first night back we had devoured our welcome back meals and then went straight to bed. I had forgotten how much I loved dorm room at Hogwarts and fell asleep straight away, the fullness of my stomach and my aching eyes giving me the best nights sleep I'd had in months. However, the next day I had lessons again, so my good mood quickly disappeared, but didn't it always? I had asked Carly about her notebook this-morning and she had given it to me the moment the words left my lips. It was actually funny to read about things the boys did at thirteen. They were even trouble makers then.

The boys weren't as bad as I thought. Sure, they were annoying and obnoxious most of the time, but they could also be caring and sweet. I would probably push them into the Black Lake to fight the giant squid after spending the day with them, but a few (broken up) hours were okay. As always, Dom and Carly were funny and kind, and it was even better now that we didn't have the awkwardness of James leaving hanging above our heads like an acid cloud.

James and I were… well, James and I. We still fought about the stupidest things (we had a massive argument about what was the best fruit the other day), we still snapped at each other and then silently made up without really trying. He was like a tattoo, sometimes you love having it, other times you hate it and just wish you could scratch it off and never see it again. I still couldn't bring myself to trust him… though I was working on it, really… kind of.

A big part of me wanted to trust him with everything and for us to be able to talk about our fears during the pregnancy, yet there was still a little nagging in the back of my mind that screamed "DON'T TRUST HIM YOU STUPID BITCH!". I hated that voice, but I couldn't stop myself from listening to it. What if he left again? Or if he just wanted interested in my thoughts and feelings and made fun of me behind my back? Even worse, what if he told people? I could barely stand my best friends knowing, never mind strangers.

"I don't think I've ever seen you eat so much fruit and vegetables before, Callie," Coco said as I popped another grape into my mouth.

"Yeah, I have to eat healthy and all that now," I muttered, disgruntled that I couldn't have my usual English breakfast with extra sausage. I glanced at Coco's bacon sandwich longingly for second. "I'm seriously hating Healer Thane for that one by the way."

James rolled his eyes, "You hate everyone, Callie."

"Not true and also very mean."

"You'd hate a puppy."

"Not even Voldemort hated puppies, James. No one hates puppies."

"Except you."

"Well, your face looks like sick."

"What? That doesn't even make sense."

"As much as I love this," Rose motioned between James and I dramatically, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "We're going to be late for class."

"We've got fifteen minutes," Dylan muttered through a mouth full of food. "That's loads of time."

"According to Rose, five minutes early is late," Coco shrugged, hopping to her feet. "We've gotten used to it over the years."

"More like we had to get used to it or Rose would have a heart attack," Scorp laughed as Rose attempted to hit him. "Or faint."

I took hold of my bag and flung it over my shoulder whilst shoving strawberries into my mouth.

"Are you not saying bye?" James shouted after my retreating back.

I give him the finger. There, that was my goodbye.

As I was opening my notes for Charms a picture glided across the table slightly as it fell from the paper. It was my scan picture. I had thought about burning it to hide the evidence but then realized how stupid I was being and tucked it into my pocket. It didn't come out of the pocket until the first day of school when I was about to walk down to breakfast and noticed that I didn't have it with me. It was weird but I felt sort of… lost without it near me. I tucked it into my bag for safe keeping and it hadn't left there since. I don't know why I insist on having it with me at all times, but it felt like something I needed with me. Like a lucky mascot or something.

I snatched the photo from the table and tucked it into the back of the back as I wrote in the middle pages. After Charms we went to Transfiguration in which Albus turned a chair into a lion and was chased for twenty minutes before anyone could stop laughing enough to help him. Even the teacher nearly wet himself. I was halfway to the Great Hall when I felt around my bag for my Charms notes for Al to borrow and couldn't find them.

"Shit, I must have left them in 'figuration," I cursed. "I'll go and get them."

"Want me to come with?"

"Nah, you're too hungry to be good company."

"Hurtful but true. See you in the hall, then."

I raced back to the lesson because I was so hungry the tables were starting to look appetizing. I searched for five minutes and found nothing. Panic started to set in, had I lost it?

"Looking for this?"

The voice startled me so much I whacked my knee off the table leg. The person cackled and I got up to glare at them, my stomach dropped when I saw Natalia McLaggen stood near the doorway holding my Charms notebook.

Fuck.

"I found it in my lesson," she smirked devilishly. "It's very… _interesting_."

"In what way? Did you find some words you didn't understand or something? I could explain what smart means if you like. It's something your not."

"Oh, hahahaha."

Nice to know my funniness is appreciated, to be honest.

"I meant the picture in the back," she snapped, ripping my scan picture from the back.

Double fuck.

She grinned at my shocked face. "Care to explain?"

"It's not mine."

"Funny. The book says Callie Denison on, and the picture says property of Miss. Calliope Denison on the back," she looked at the picture in fake interest. My heart started to pound and roar in my ears. "Are you telling me they're two different people?"

"Yes."

The sad thing is, she looked like she believed me for a second.

"Shut up, Denison," she snipped after contemplating what I said for several moments. "I know it's yours. The question is, who's the father?"

I mentally patted myself on the back for not putting 'property of Calliope Denison and James Potter, fuckknob extraordinaire who really needs to learn how to use a condom and not impregnate innocent girls' like I was going to. I wrote it on his instead and when he showed Lily last week she laughed for an hour straight until she was practically choking on the floor.

"You can shove the photo up your arse if you think I'm telling you."

I could steal James' photo and keep that one under lock and key in my dorm room. I was never going to take it out again. Merlin, why did I insist on being stupid _all the damn time_?

"Honestly, I couldn't give a shit who the father is," she shrugged and I believed her. She handed me the photo and notebook and I quickly shoved them both into my bag. By the look in her shining brown eyes, however, I knew this was far from over.

"What do you want?" I asked rather reluctantly.

"I've seen you're getting chummy with James and his friends lately," he lips quirked wickedly. "And I want you to help me get back together with James."

"Are you joking?"

"No. He's mine, Callie," she got in my face literally growling like a wolf. "If I can't have him no one can. And I'm guessing you don't want him, right?" she questioned, her voice turning innocent and sweet as if daring me to say I liked him.

"Right," I lied.

"Good. I knew it anyway, he wouldn't like someone like you." I took this as a compliment somehow. "He likes me, I know he does, he just needs to see that. And considering you're boning Albus on the side and I think up the duff with James' nephew, you can talk to James about getting back together with me."

I neither confirmed nor denied Albus as the father. If I confirmed it, she was sure to tell her friends about the latest Potter scandal, but if I denied it she could figure out that I was knocked up by her ex-boyfriend who, by the looks of things, she still liked. I hated to imagine what she would do to me if she found out about James and I, she'd probably beat me up with a table leg or something equally as disturbing.

"And if I refuse?" I said, mostly because I didn't want James to be with her. Not that I would be jealous or anything I just didn't want Natalia around me.

_LIAR!_

"Then I'll tell everyone about your _problem_," she eyed my stomach. "And I made a copy of your photo for proof, so you can deny it all you want but I'll get the last laugh one way or another, Denison."

I took a deep breath. She wasn't going to back down for anything more or less than James. I would offer her money, but I had none to give. I would tell Albus or Rose or even James, but that would only end in Natalia getting hurt and telling everyone about me anyway. Yet, if I did as she asked she would get back together with James and actually, you know, _be around_. He would be all happy and lovey-dovey with her while I sit with them looking like a beach whale. She could be my child's step-mother… that thought alone made me want to throw up.

No matter what option I chose there was no good outcome. I raked my brain for a potential loophole in the plan… there was none. I had to give up, I had to do as she asked or I was going to be bombarded not only with the Hogwarts students but the whole wizard world. The press would follow me around, fan girls would be threatening to kill me and chase me around the castle with their pitchforks and fire sticks, I would be a complete failure and everyone would see.

"I'll do it," I burst suddenly, surprising not only her but myself, too.

"Brilliant," she chirped, stepping away and winking at me. "I think we could be great friends, Denison."

I refrained from drowning myself in the Black Lake at the image that popped into my head of Natalia and I being _friends_. Merlin, I'd rather be pregnant with triplets—NO, no! I take that back! Shit, the Gods were going to make it triplets now, weren't they? Dickheads.

She skipped out the room and paused at the door to wave at me, her face stretched into a bright, fake smile. I waved back, dreading the day she found out I was pregnant with James' kid and not Al's. I imagine that to be the day I die.

I ditched lunch and the rest of the day to mope around in my dorm room on my bed. I played a Celestina Warbeck CD and cried along to the tune holding my teddy-bear and scan photo.

It wasn't until an hour later did I realize how pathetic I had become. There was something terribly wrong with you in the brain area if you _enjoyed _Celestina Warbeck CD's. That's right, pregnancy was officially making me crazier than Coco. It was a frightening thought to fall asleep to.

* * *

**Thoughts?**

**Sorry I haven't updated for a long time but I've had exams for the past two weeks and I've been revising none-stop. School comes before my writing, unfortunately. **

**Thank you to anyone that reviewed, alerted and favourite, you're the best!**

**-Laylax**


	22. Natalia, more Natalia and maybe keeping

**Don't own anything except OC's.**

* * *

Chapter 22. Natalia, more Natalia and maybe keeping the baby.

I stayed in my bed for the rest of the night, eating the junk food from my bedside draws for tea even though I knew it was bad. I had fallen asleep before any of the girls came back for the night and slept through until morning. Rose and Coco were pulling on their uniforms when I awoke.

"Where were you last night?" Coco asked as she shimmed into her skirt.

"I felt sick," I replied, feeling guilty when she sent me a sympathetic look. I couldn't tell her about my deal for Natalia, she would go and grass to someone and then the whole school would know within seconds that I was pregnant. I couldn't risk it. "So I came to bed."

"We looked all over the damn castle for you," Rose muttered. "None of us thought that you would be in bed until later, but you were asleep when we got up here."

"Busy day, I guess," I shrugged.

Once we were dressed we walked down to the hall with me carefully looking for any sign of Natalia so I could run away from her. I contemplated skipping breakfast, but my baby had other ideas because my stomach growled five times as we walked down the enchanted stairs.

"Where the hell were you last night?" Al hissed as I took a seat opposite him, next to James.

"Throwing up, what were you doing?"

He blanched. "Oh, sorry, I thought you'd run off or something."

"Why didn't you tell me you weren't feeling good?" James whispered as Al turned to talk to Derrick.

"I'm sorry?"

"I could have brought you something."

"There's nothing for pregnancy sickness, James," I said back, smirking only slightly. "Well, nothing that won't harm the baby anyways. I just need to nap and throw up, I didn't think you'd want to be there for that to be honest."

"Well, then," he paused for a moment. "I could have held your hair back."

I didn't know whether to find that sweet or disturbing.

Rolling my eyes, I started to pile a mountain of various fruits onto my plate. I had just finished when there was a loud coughing followed by some giggles. I looked up to see Natalia and her friends walking past the place we were all sat. She winked slyly at me, motioning pointedly to James. She took a seat near us, sending me looks as I continued to stare at her like she was a ghost. After a couple of minutes of doing nothing, she raised her perfectly plucked eyebrows, smirked and then rubbed her stomach and rocked her arms like there was a baby in them.

I paled, feeling sick and not from the pregnancy.

"Hey, James," I gulped at the thought of Natalia standing on the table and shouting out to the crowd about me being up the duff. "What ever happened to you and Natalia?"

He was so shocked by the question he choked on his pumpkin juice and started to cough violently. I thumped him on the back, watching in slight amusement as he turned bright red. Everyone at the table sent us weird looks and I smiled brightly at them which freaked them out so much they looked away.

_Well._

"Why—why would you ask that?" he gurgled, looking terribly putout.

"You were dating her before Christmas, right?" I questioned and he nodded slowly. "And I haven't seen you speak to her since we got back, so what happened?"

"I broke up with her a few days before the Quidditch match," he answered reluctantly. "We weren't dating seriously or anything, so she took it pretty well. Then, obviously, I ran days later so I didn't speak to her then and I've only said hi to her in the hallways since we got back."

"She took it pretty well?" I asked flatly.

"Yeah. She was awesome about it. She just smiled at me and said it was okay."

How could anyone with a brain think Natalia McLaggen was _awesome_? Cleary, he's mentally deranged… or he's only got half a brain, which is actually very possible.

"If she was so awesome maybe you should ask her back out," I said after a pregnant pause.

His eyes widened and he angled his body to me so he could speak quieter. "Where's all this coming from? Has she said something to you?"

My eyes flickered to Natalia as she giggled along with one of her friends. She sensed me staring and turned, grinning wickedly with her eyes sparkling. When she noticed me speaking to James she gave me a thumbs up.

I wanted to smack her.

"No, of course not," I answered smoothly. It was worrying that I had become so good at lying. "I was just thinking about it last night and you seemed… good together, that's all. I don't want you to be upset about losing her or anything, so you could get back together. I mean, it's not like we're together, is it?"

His eyebrows scrunched together at my words. "I suppose not."

"Exactly. You should go for it."

"I might."

_What?_

I didn't think he would actually say yes to this. I thought he would scoff and act outright disgusted by my words. He _wanted _to go out with her? How could he want to go out with her? How could he want her to be a part of his child's life… a child that we weren't keeping.

"Okay, then."

I couldn't look into his bright hazel eyes any longer without caving so I looked away, striking up a conversation with Rose about of History of Magic homework. I felt James shift next to me and cringed. What if he did ask out Natalia? What if she did start to hang around with us? She would be the one sat next to him, she would be the one he worried about, she would be the one he kissed in front of me. She would be the one to murder me when she found out her boyfriend had knocked me up.

I wondered if she really would be mad, or if she would just be happy that she was finally with James again and just ignore me. Would she tell him to dump me? Would he listen? Would she marry him, take him away somewhere and have millions of children that easily cemented the gap giving up our child would have surely left in his heart? Would she make him leave me?

My thoughts were too much to handle so I pushed them out of my mind, carefully following Al, Rose and Scorp to our lesson. We had finished morning lessons and were on our way to lunch when Natalia pulled me aside. The guys didn't notice, they were too busy arguing over who was the most kickass teacher, so I was easily pulled into the corner of the hallway.

"Did you do it?" she asked excitedly.

"Yes," I sighed. "He said he might ask you out again."

Her happy demeanor deflated. "What do you mean _might_? I need him to ask me! He can't just be thinking about it, Denison! That wasn't part of the deal!"

"I'm trying, he's just in a weird place right now."

"Oh, boohoo," she snapped. "You have until the end of the week, Denison, or I'm telling everyone about your little problem."

She stormed off, her hair swinging behind her. I watched her, my mind reeling. Loose James and gain Natalia or have everyone find out about my pregnancy? Sighing, I pushed myself off the wall and walked to the hall. I took a seat next to James and waited until he had finished talking to Dylan until I spoke to him.

"Do you ever think about asking out Natalia?"

"For fuck sake, Callie," he snipped. "What's your obsession with me and Nat?"

_He calls her Nat. He clearly still has feelings for her. There you go again, ruining other people's happiness because you fucked up. _

"I just—I don't know. I just want everything to go on as normally and if I wasn't pregnant you'd be with Natalia still. So I'd be a bit of a hypocrite if I didn't let you date her."

He rolled his eyes. "I don't _want _to date her, Callie. She wouldn't be able to handle this," he motioned between me and him. "And the baby is more important than what Natalia and I do. I want to make the right choices, I don't want to be influenced by Natalia pushing me to do something. I mean, we're not even sure if we're giving it up yet, are we?"

"You know about that?" I gasped.

"My mum told me," he answered softly. "And she said you didn't seem very confident about it. Adoption is a massive decision, Callie."

"You don't think I know that? I thought about it before and then you left and I knew I couldn't do it on my own," I barked. He flinched and I almost chuckled. "And, to be honest, I don't think we could do this. We fight all the time, we have no jobs, I haven't done my N.E.W.T.S, we don't have the first clue on how to raise a baby—we've got too much to learn and we're too young to be taught it yet."

He stayed silent for a while, sullenly playing with his food and glaring off into the distance. "I think we could do it."

"What?"

"Raise a baby. I know we fight a lot, but a lot of couples do and I'm sure we'll get over it in the future," I snorted at that one. "I might not have a job yet but I'll be graduating in June and I'm bound to get one somewhere. My dad said a lot of teams are already showing interest in me and the Appleby Arrows captain has already talked to my dad about me being on their team. I'm sure there are plenty of options for you to finish your N.E.W.T.S, you won't be the first person to get pregnant at Hogwarts. As for learning how to raise a baby, we have another five months, Callie. We can learn some more stuff in that time. Plus, my mum said that most things come natural once the baby is in your arms."

I eyed him suspiciously. Two months ago he had walked out, screaming and shouting about not wanting to be a dad. He left me, he left the baby, and now he wanted to _raise_ it. Talk about changing your mind. He's gone from one extreme to the other. He looked so hopeful, so desperate for me to listen to him.

"We can't James—," I murmured, my throat suddenly dry.

"Just think about it," he interrupted. "That's all I'm asking."

I nodded, letting my head fall into my hands. The last thing I had expected this lunch time was to have a heart-to-heart with James Potter, the guy I had despised less than a month ago. Yet here we were, talking about raising a baby together, the biggest and most life changing thing you can do with a person. I felt myself tremble with the seriousness of it all. We were seriously thinking about bringing up a life, teaching it and letting it call us 'mum' and 'dad'. Years ago, if someone had told me I would be sitting in the great hall discussing this with James, I would I threw them into the tree and enjoyed it. It was almost like a dream.

"Okay," I muttered as he continued to stare hopefully at me. "I'll think about it, but I—"

"That's all I want you to do," he butted in before I could finish.

"Why do you want to keep it all of a sudden?" I asked quietly, trying not to bring any attention our way. Ethan and Derrick, who were sat opposite us, were in deep conversation and weren't paying us any interest. The loudness of the hall was drowning out mine and James' voice so no one close could hear unless they really tried, but no one looked like they were about to eavesdrop any time soon. "Two months ago you hated the thought of the baby so much you ran and now you want to keep it. Doesn't really make sense to me."

James looked uncomfortable and glanced around like someone was about to pop out of the shadows. When he realized no one cared what we were saying, he looked me in the eyes. "Like I said, I did a lot of thinking while I was… gone. I just—I don't know, I can't imagine giving it away," he gazed down at my stomach and I shifted slightly. "He's my baby, you know? And stuff like this is kind of a sore spot for my family."

"How so?"

"My dad was raised by his Aunt and Uncle and he hated it," he explained like I didn't know already. Everyone knew everything about the great Harry Potter, even the things he didn't want people to know (like when he nearly killed Scorp's dad). "And that was because he didn't have his parents. What if he ended up in a shitty family like that? And my brother, Teddy, his parents died when he was a baby and my dad and Aunt Andromeda refused to give him up. I couldn't imagine my life without him and neither could my dad and he's not even biologically his son. Imagine if my dad had given Teddy up for adoption?" he stopped, shaking his head like is physically hurt him to think that. I felt the need to rest my hand on his shoulder or hug hum but I refrained.

"That's different," I answered once I had thought that over. "Obviously you couldn't live without Teddy now, but you would have been able to if he was given up for adoption straight away. Not that he should have," I added hastily as James' eyes began to blaze. "I know Teddy's a brother to you, Al and Lily. Al talks about him all the time and I love to talk to him when I'm around your house. That wasn't what I meant. If Teddy had been given up for adoption when he was a baby, you wouldn't have known him from being born so you couldn't have missed him. You can't miss something you've never had, James."

He looked me dead in the eyes. "But we would have had him, Callie. Even if we do give him up for adoption you'll have to see him and, well, give birth to him. Do you really think you're going to be able to give him up after holding him for nine months, giving birth to him and then maybe holding him? If you can safely say you can, then fine, I won't fight for it any longer. But even I don't think I can give him up and I'm not the one that's been pregnant."

I held his gaze until my eyes started to burn and then turned away. There were just too many what ifs and maybes flying around and I didn't know what to do. I didn't _want _to give the baby up, of course I didn't, but that wasn't what mattered. Was giving the baby up the best thing for not only the baby, but everyone? Could I handle being a mum when all my genes were steadily against me? Could James and I bring up a baby together? Would the baby be happy with us? Would it have more of a chance with an adopted family? Would the baby even get adopted?

Fuck, my brain was going to explode.

James took my silence as the end of the conversation and joined in the one that Louis, Freddie and Dylan were having about the Quidditch league. I ate in silence, my mind reeling from everything that was going on in my life. Before my sixth year of Hogwarts I had thought life was boring. Now, all I had was drama and I was missing the boringness that I had previously taken for granted. I wanted the biggest thing happening in my life to be what homework I was going to get and if I was involved in the next Hogwarts scandal.

Shaking my head, I scooped some more food into my mouth and pushed those thoughts away. It was my fault I was in this mess and I needed to deal with it like a man… at a lack of any other phrase. The question was, how?

* * *

**Thoughts?**

**I'm so sorry for the late update but I have a good excuse. My laptop broke a couple of weeks ago and I lost ****_everything_****. I saved everything on a memory stick only for it not to work when I put it into a new laptop. I literally sobbed for about three days. I've lost the story line for this story and all the character information. So if I don't update for a while, I'm really sorry, but I had to squeeze out this chapter and post it from my sister's computer, so I'm also sorry if this chapter isn't good either.**

**Thanks, **

**Laylax**


	23. Hanging out, aching bodies and blackmail

Don't own anything except OC's.

* * *

Chapter 23. Hanging out, aching bodies and blackmailing

For the rest of the day I couldn't stop thinking about mine and James' conversation. It replayed through my head like a broken record even though I didn't want it to. Each question and thought I had I tried to answer, but came up with shit. By the end of the day my brain was so fizzled I fell straight to sleep. I slept until noon when I was awoken by Coco to go and get some food. We ate in the kitchens, having missed breakfast and dinner wasn't for another couple of hours, and then went back to the dorm to do homework.

Coco and I sat on her bed playing exploding snap avoiding the essay we had to write for Charms while Rose scribbled in the bed beside us. Megan and Linda were surely roaming the castle for gossip so we were allowed to speak freely.

"Will you give it the middle name Coco?" my sister asked after avoiding a particularly vicious blow from the game. The sleeve of her wooly cardigan was slightly signed of it and my sock had nearly been set on fire. "I want it to be named after me."

"But your names Cordelia," I replied, setting another card down. No pair. "So, technically, it wouldn't be named after you."

She crinkled her nose. "I'd never let a child suffer the name of _Cordelia_," she sniffed. "Poor thing—poor _me_, anyways."

"It's not that bad, Co," I said truthfully. I had often wished that I had been the one named Cordelia instead of Calliope, mostly because of the meaning. "Look at it this way, you could have been called Scorpius Hyperion."

Coco laughed brightly. "Oh, yeah. Poor Scorp. What the hell were his parents thinking when they named him that?"

"Clearly, they wanted their child to be bullied."

"Or you could have been called Albus Severus," Rose put in, chuckling. "My dad swears that Aunt Ginny was on drugs when she named him that."

"I think you'd have to be," I smirked.

Albus was not here to defend his name due to Quidditch practice. When James had left Dylan had took over his captaincy and James wasn't impressed with their play so they were practicing extra hours on the weekends. They had gone at nine this morning and they were still there now at two in the afternoon. Scorp was off with some Slytherin friends in the library and Dom and Carly were helping Roxanne Weasley with her potions homework in the common room while Derrick and Ethan sat with them. It was strangely quiet without them all around, but also nice. Rose, Coco and I hadn't hung out just us in a long time and it was good to catch up without brash or loud shouts echoing around us.

"AH-HA!" I screamed, pointing my wand as a pair popped up. Coco swore as I collected the cards and I gave her a smug look.

"See that, baby? You're mummy's a cheater," Coco said to my stomach. I snorted at her as she placed my hand on my ever growing bump that was well hidden under my thick cardigan. "Never trust her if she plays games with you."

It wasn't until tea time when we emerged from the dorm room to go for food. I had half piled my plate when someone plopped down next to me and rested their head on my shoulder. Messy black hair tickled my face as I turned and a groan emitted from the person's lips.

"I'm going to die."

"Don't be so melodramatic," I chuckled.

"I'm not being melodramatic, I'm being serious," Al whimpered. "Everything hurts, even places that I didn't know could hurt."

"That could be taken the wrong way."

He didn't even glare at me. "Callie, do me a plate up please?"

"You lazy twat, do it yourself."

"I _can't_!"

Grudgingly, I piled a plate full of the things I knew he liked and set it down in front of him. After all, it was the least I could do after everything he had done for me. "Don't expect me to feed you," I said, filling his goblet with juice.

"Rose—"

"Bugger off, Potter."

"I'd take that as a no," Coco giggled.

"Oh, come on, Al! I didn't work you that hard!" James suddenly appeared opposite Albus with a disgruntled look. "It was some simple drills."

"Simple drills my arse, James Sirius Potter," Lily snapped, limping past with Cooper. Deciding they couldn't walk any longer, they took a seat beside Rose. "I think you've broke my ankle."

"And you almost knocked me out with your Quaffle," Cooper huffed. "I could have got concussion because of your shitty aim."

James scoffed. "I do not have shitty aim, you just have shitty avoidance skills."

"Excuses, excuses."

I laughed, scooping another mouthful of carrots when I caught the eye of Natalia. She was standing behind James sending me rather pointed looks and nudging her head towards the door. My stomach dropped at the mere sight of her and I muttered something about going to the toilet before following her out. She led us around the corner and leaned against the stone wall of the empty corridor.

"Have you talked to him again?"

"Yes," I replied calmly. "I'm working on it but he seems dead set with being single right now."

"Change his mind."

"How? He's his own person, McLaggen. I can't just manipulate him into dating you."

She huffed like I was the one in the wrong. "Try to. I had to smack Bonnie this-morning because she mentioned asking him to Hogsmeade. I'm so sick of every girl in the damn school thinking they can have him when they know he's mine. We just need to be exclusive for him to be totally off limits to everyone else," she paused, staring off into the distance for a moment. "Remember, Denison, the end of the week."

She didn't even glance at me as she flounced off down the hallway. I felt like shouting after her and demanding to know why she wanted to date him so much. Was he really that good of a boyfriend that she _needed_ to date him? Could she not live without him? Was she in love with him? Was he in love with her? I'd never thought about their relationship past the broom closet hookups that many people claim to have walked in on. Was there a more serious level to it than I thought? It must have been for Natalia to be so adamant on being with him. Unless she was just an obsessive bitch/stalker girl like most of the females in this place.

"End of the week for what?" a voice cut through my thoughts.

_Shit._

"Did you hear all of that?"

"Yep," Rose popped her lips and walked into the light with her eyebrows raised, arms crossed and lips pulled into a thin line. "Does she know about the baby?"

"She found my scan when I left it in class," I answered reluctantly. "She's going to tell everyone that I'm pregnant at the end of the week if I don't get James to date her again."

"She's _blackmailing_ you?" Rose shrieked and I shushed her. "You can't let her do that, Callie."

"What else am I supposed to do?" I hissed, my heart beginning to pound. "She'll tell everyone if I don't!"

"Let her," seeing my outraged face she quickly continued. "All I mean is that everyone's going to find out anyway, you might as well just tell them now! You're already four months gone, Callie, you can't keep hiding under baggy clothes for much longer!"

"I can if I get bigger clothes!"

"That's not the point, Callie, and you know it," she said heatedly. "You're family already knows and they're supporting you so what the hell are you so afraid of?"

"Um, I don't know? Maybe the press? The fan girls? Teachers?" I growled. "My failures are going to be all over the fucking papers and magazines and there's nothing I can do about it! People are going to look at me like I'm shit, and everyone's going to judge me… I can't handle that, Rose. I _hate_ being the spotlight for anything, never mind this!"

"You made a mistake Callie, so what?" Rose snipped without missing a beat. "Everyone makes mistakes."

"Not as big as this."

"Okay, fine, maybe not as big as this, but you need to get over yourself. You've got a shit situation but, to be brutally honest, there's no one else to blame but you and James. You need to accept it. If you can't, you can't expect other people to. No one will care in a few months when they realize that something else is going on in the world that's more important," she expressed. "You're not the first sixteen-year-old to get pregnant, Callie, and you certainly won't be the last. Sure, it makes it more complicated given the fact that the baby's father is a Potter, but you could have been dealt shitter cards than this."

Well, I was utterly gob-smacked.

I stared at her like a fish, my mouth opening and closing a few times in shock. Though a big part of me wanted to be angry with her, smack her and then scream about how she didn't know shit…. I knew she was right. Every word she said was true, as per usual. If I was looking at the situation from an outside perspective I would have said the same thing, just not in such a nice way. I probably would have said "fucking hell, woman, get over yourself, it's your own stupid fault. Deal with it and stop acting like such an idiot. No one cares". But being on the other end was totally different. Whatever decision I made effected my entire life, my family's life, James life, James' family's life and my baby's life. It was a lot of pressure to hold on my shoulders and I worried about every move I made.

I didn't want things to change. I didn't want everyone to think I was a failure. I didn't want my family to be targeted because of what I did. I didn't want to be all over the papers and magazines for being pregnant at sixteen.

However, what Rose said at the end hit a nerve. I could have been dealt shitter cards than this. There were _a lot_ of people worse off than me. There were probably people whose family wasn't behind them, people who didn't have anyone to stick with them and give them a shoulder to lean on when they needed it, people who had nothing. Obviously, I knew that, I tried to constantly remind myself of that whenever I felt low, but it was hard to remember that everyday… still, I needed to make more of an effort.

"Yeah. Yeah, you're right," I breathed, my insults and shouting catching in my throat. She was looking out for me, she didn't deserve being targeted by me. "I'm sorry. It's just hard—"

"I know that, Callie," Rose murmured softly. She walked forward and wrapped her arms around my waist. "Of course I know that. I don't want you to forget who you are because of this, though. I mean you're letting _Natalia McLaggen_ blackmail you? Four months ago you would have laughed in her face."

"Probably."

"So stop caring about what everyone else thinks and just think about you and the baby," she said, letting go of me. "None of us are leaving you any time soon and neither are you family, so who cares what everyone else thinks? You get used to it after a while, I promise. We don't care what other people think of us anymore, if we did we'd go insane. There're so many different opinions on our family it would be impossible to know and think about them all. You'd give yourself a brain aneurism. You learn to deal with the press after a while."

I chuckled and let her lead me back to the hall. I sat next to Albus and listened to him complain about how is body was broken while helpfully patting every place he said hurt the most. Coco laughed brightly and Lily joined in, pinching the places I couldn't reach. As I watched James pile up a plate of fruit for me I wondered if it was time to tell the truth. Rose was right, if my family and friends were supportive, who else did I need?

If only it was that easy.

* * *

**Thoughts?**

**So I got a new laptop because the hard drive broke on the other one, meaning I really have lost everything. Updates are still going to be slow until I get my stories sorted again, but at least I'm back on track! Thanks for being so patient, by the way. **

**Thank you to everyone that reviewed, alerted and put me or the story in their favourites!**

**Thanks, **

**Laylax**


	24. Arguments, smart cousins and Great Hall

**Don't own anything except OC's.**

* * *

**Chapter 24. Arguments, smart cousins and Great Hall announcements**

"Have you talked to Natalia yet?"

I looked up from my work to see Rose had turned her chair around to lean on my desk. Albus was off near the potions chatting up some girls in Ravenclaw with Scorpius and Coco had gone to torture the teacher about the "pathetic" grade she got on her essay that she "didn't deserve".

"No," I replied rather reluctantly. Like I thought, she gave me a disappointed stare that was almost as bad as my dad's. "I couldn't find her last night and she wasn't in the hall this-morning."

"You need to talk to her soon."

"I know I do and I will when I find her."

She had to stop there as Albus and Scorpius came back grinning rather proudly at themselves. Rose rolled her eyes and turned her back on them and I smirked.

"What's go you so cheery?" I asked sarcastically.

"Amelia Richards just called me hot," Al boasted and Scorpius patted his back like a proud dad. "And then said I can ask her to Hogsmeade any time."

"She sounds _lovely_. You should go and ask her now."

"Don't sound so genuine, Callie," Scorp said. "People may start to think that you're actually nice, and we don't want that, do we?"

I kicked him on the knee and Rose giggled as he howled in pain.

"I like her, you dipshit," I snapped heatedly. "She's just a bit… dim, that's all."

"Dim? She wouldn't be able to tell the difference between her arse and her nose," Rose scoffed. "And neither could Emmie Hall."

"Emmie Hall's smart," Scorpius argued, looking quite offended. "She called me cute."

"I think you've just proved Rose's point there, Scorp," I snorted.

"She's an idiot," Rose snipped, her face blooming bright red. "And if you don't know that then you're stupid, too." With that, she got up and stomped over to the teacher to hand in her work.

"Damn, what crawled up her arse?" Al murmured, giving Scorpius and I confused looks.

"Don't know," I shrugged. "You know how Rose can get sometimes. She means good, though."

"Just because she's the smartest in the year she thinks everyone is stupid," Scorpius huffed scornfully. "Not everyone can inherit Hermione Weasley's brains, you know. She needs to get her head out of her arse." Then he stormed off as well.

"Well, that was weird," Albus commented after a long stretch of silence in which we stared at the pair with our jaws dropped.

I snorted and sent he him an amused look. "We need to find more normal friends."

"And family."

"Can't choose your family."

"No, but you can ignore them."

I hit him for that and then finished off the work page we had been assigned. Our last lesson of the day was fairly strange… or downright hilarious. Scorpius and Rose made a big deal about how they were ignoring each other and sent glares and scoffs when they deemed necessary, Coco looked utterly confused by their actions and kept complaining about bad auras, while Albus and I laughed so hard we were almost sent out by a ready to explode Professor Flitwick. He was like a tiny red banshee.

"Fancy finishing the Charms essay?" Albus asked as we walked up the magical stairs to the common room.

"Might as well," Coco sighed. "We've got nothing else to do… sadly."

"Get mine, Rose," I pleaded, sitting on the couch near the fire.

"Fuck off."

Clearly, she was still uptight about the whole Scorpius thing.

"Coco will you?" when she looked like she would say no, I spoke again, "I'm pregnant."

She rolled her eyes. "Okay, but you're not allowed to play that card for the rest of the day."

Albus jogged up to his dormitory while I took off my tie and cloak and hung it on the back of the couch whilst stuffing my shoes under the coffee table. As I got my pen out of my bag someone sat next to me.

_Please don't be Natalia. Please don't be Natalia. Please don't be Natalia._

"Has he agreed yet?"

Fuck you, Merlin.

"No," I answered, silently wondering if it would be illegal to stab her with my pen. "And I don't think he's going to, Natalia."

"Make him," she demanded. "Or everyone's going to find out about this little thing," she gently patted my stomach and I flinched.

"Tell everyone, then," I said, shocked by the strong hold of my voice. "Do you really think telling everyone that I'm pregnant will miraculously change his mind? If he doesn't want to date you, Natalia, he doesn't want to date you. Nothing I do can change that."

"It will if you keep telling him."

"You've give me until the end of the week. That's hardly enough time."

"I'll give you till the end on the month."

"It doesn't matter, anyway," I almost shouted. "He's made up his mind and he won't change it. If you care for him as much as you act like you do then shouldn't you just leave him alone?"

She stared into the fire for a while, the flames dancing off her pretty face. Natalia wasn't an ugly person, maybe inside, but outside she was nice. The only thing about her was that she wore far too much makeup and hair products. Once I seen her coming out of the prefects bathroom when I was going to get some food and I had to do a double take to make sure it was her. She was almost beautiful when she was natural, it was just her personality that made me want to gag her and push her off a very high cliff.

She shook her head. "I can't," she whispered and then walked away and up the girl's stairs.

What the hell did that mean? And why didn't she slap me?

I was almost sure I would be on my knees begging for my life by now. Natalia wasn't a type of person to leave without getting her way; she was more of a scratch, bite, scream and kick until she got her way girl. The amount of fights she had gotten into over the years because she didn't get her way was uncountable. I was shocked that I didn't have a black eye or a twisted ankle, the two things that were Natalia's specialty.

"Good afternoon, fatty," Freddie's cheery (annoying) voice cut through my thoughts like a sharp, unwanted knife. "How's your day been?"

I glared at him. "I hate you sometimes, Weasley."

"You don't call a girl fat," Dom explained as Freddie had the audacity to looked insulted. "Not even if she's up the duff."

"And she's not fat," Carly defended. I knew I liked her. "She was just disgustingly skinny before."

"Talk about a backwards compliment, Carly," James sniggered at my affronted expression.

"I'm sorry," Carly said quickly. "It's just you were rather skinny. Especially when we had just gotten back to school."

"I'd grown three inches," I muttered. "My weight hadn't caught up yet."

They snorted and settled around the fire with the school work. Albus, Rose and Coco joined minutes later, Albus pushed Freddie off his seat and then vacated it with his work spread out around him, Rose grumbled about stupid family's as she sat on the floor next to Louis and Coco. The common room slowly filled up with various Gryffindor students until the noise was at a level I liked.

"Hey, so I was thinking," I whispered to James.

He stopped writing his Transfiguration homework and smirked. "Well, that's never a good sign."

"Shut up," I said flatly. "When do you think we should tell everyone about… this," I pointed to my stomach, carefully making sure the third years near the window weren't paying attention to us.

"We've told everyone, haven't we? Unless you have some secret family that I don't know about—"

"No, I mean _everyone_. Like the teachers and stuff."

This time he looked shocked. "Oh, right. I don't know. I was just going to wait until you have a massive bump and let people figure it out for themselves."

"Actually, that sounds like a good idea—"

"No it doesn't," Rose interrupted. She had crawled over to lean against the couch while Louis and Coco shamelessly flirted near the coffee table. "That sounds like a stupid idea. Don't do it."

"Alright little Miss I know everything, what do you think we should do?" James questioned grumpily.

"I think you should tell the teachers as soon as you can so they can tell Callie what to do about her N.E.W.T.S exams," she said. "And then I think you should let Coco tell everyone because she's been dying to for months now."

"Yeah, well," I spluttered. "Merlin, why do you have to be smart _all the time_?"

She smiled and went back to her neat work that didn't look like it had been hacked by a Hippogriff, put into the fire and then covered in food like mine did.

"She's your cousin," I said to James gravely. "How do you feel?"

He snorted. "What she said makes sense. You need to see what to do about your N.E.W.T.S."

"Yeah," I mumbled, my heart already pounding at the thought of telling someone else about my pregnancy. "And maybe we should wait a while before we tell everyone. I don't—don't think I'm ready for that yet."

"Okay," he shrugged. "We can tell people when you want. I don't care if they know or not."

I rolled my eyes. It annoyed me that he could be so calm and I had to be the one to freak out about everything all the time. Why couldn't he be the one doing the worrying? Or, at the very least, couldn't we freak out together? It would be nice to have someone to scream at all the time. Although, I could imagine us killing each other if we were both as aggressive as me, so maybe that wouldn't be a good thing to wish for.

Knowing that I had all the time I wanted (or when my bump got too big to hide) lifted a weight off my shoulders. All I had to do was make Natalia happy and no one would find out for at least another two-three months. I'm sure I could feed her lies to make sure she didn't say anything to anyone, but I wasn't going to let her push me around anymore. Maybe I could get a silencing charm on her! Or I could "accidently" make a potion explode on her that made her tongue disappear!

If I worked my words right I could get Rose to make one for me. I'll say it's for Coco, she'll definitely make one for me then.

I was relatively silent as I worked on my essay, listening to the chatter from everyone else was enough noise. Hours later it was tea time so we went to the hall together. I was in the middle of eating when Natalia came over with her friends.

"Hey, Denison, do you really think you should be eating chocolate in you _condition_," she smirked evilly. "You're meant to keep yourself healthy, aren't you?"

My heart started to thump and my blood roared in my ears. "Natalia what—"

"What condition?" Bonnie asked stupidly. "Have you got an STD?"

Rebecca Stinson giggled delightedly at this. "From who?"

"Oh, no, she hasn't got an STD," Natalia waved the comments off simply. I almost died. "It's something far worse."

Becks scoffed. "What can be worse?"

Natalia smirked wickedly. Everything in my body dropped to my toes and I was starting to lose oxygen in my brain. I felt like I was going to pass out. She wouldn't say it, would she? Surely she wasn't so low and twisted and sick and—

"She's pregnant."

Okay, apparently, I was wrong.

Bonnie's jaw dropped and Coco gasped dramatically next to me. Becks squealed like this was the best news since sliced bread, bringing the attention of the many students in the hall.

Albus stood up. "How the fuck—"

"CALLIE'S PREGNANT?!"

Yeah, that pretty much shattered every wall I had built. The hall fell into a deafening silence. Natalia smiled at me, looking entirely pleased with herself and what she had done, Bonnie looked seconds from fainting and Becks was rubbing her ears. I felt every set of eyes on me like lasers, including the gob-smacked teachers, and then people broke the silence and started to whisper hurriedly to their friends.

The walls were closing in around me and I couldn't breathe. My grip on the table had become so hard that the old oak was chipping into my finger nails and my knuckles were bright white. I knew everyone was waiting for my reaction, for me to shout and scream that it wasn't true and that she was a dirty, rotten liar that needed to get a life. I wanted to shout that. I didn't want her to get the satisfaction for breaking me even though she had squashed everything inside me with her pointy stiletto heels.

So I did what I do best, I ran.

I pushed myself to my feet and walked out the doors without so much as a glance back. I didn't want Natalia to see me break down, so I hid in a cupboard instead, my back against the cold stone wall while I sobbed. I heard the door open and through blurry eyes I noticed a big form walk into the cupboard.

"I'm sorry," James murmured, wrapping his arms around me. I didn't have the energy to push him of or scream at him that this was all his stupid fault. I let him hug me as I bawled into his shoulder, wishing more than anything that it was my dad with his arms around me and whispering that everything was going to be okay.

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**Thoughts?**

**Sorry for the late update, my only excuse is that I have a lot of exams coming up and I had to revise for them. I wrote this chapter what I was supposed to be revising Sociology, oops! **

**Thanks for all the reviews, favourites and alerts! Have I mentioned that I love you all?**

**Laylax**


	25. Deep conversation, Sinistra and argumen

**Don't own anything except OC's.**

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**Chapter 25. Deep conversation, Sinistra and argument**

I sobbed outright for about forty minutes before I calmed down enough to breath properly again. My lungs were throbbing and my eyes ached so bad I felt like I was going to pass out. James had given up trying to console me after fifteen minutes but instead sat next to me, his arm on my back as I cried into my knees.

I couldn't believe it. Everyone _knew_. The whole fucking school knew about me and I couldn't do anything about it… unless I obliviated them all. Having a baby in Azkaban would be pretty awkward though, so that was out of the question. I felt like ringing my hands around Natalia's neck until her face turned blue. What she did was just plain coldhearted and that was coming from _me_.

I was never leaving the cupboard again. I was going to stay here for the rest of my life. There was enough room to make a tiny flat in, and if I made Coco bring me food I could easily live in here and never see anyone ever again. If I leaved in here I would be ridiculed, I would have my name in all the papers, I would be thought of a failure around the Wizard world, I would embarrass my family.

"Surely you can't breathe properly sitting like that," James whispered.

"I can breathe enough," I replied throatily.

"Well then, the baby probably can't breathe."

I straightened up and flopped against the cold wall while wiping my wet cheeks with my jumper sleeve. I was in a cupboard with a load of broken brooms, old chairs and cracked crystal balls that I'm sure Rose did when she got angry at the 'stupidity' of Divination.

"The baby can't breathe anyway," I replied softly. "Doesn't it use the umbilical cord?"

"How the hell am I meant to know? I just didn't want you to faint on me." He chuckled and I rolled my eyes despite myself. Sniffling, I fiddled with the ends of my jumper sleeves and pulled them over my freezing fingers. "Are you alright?" he spoke again after a stretch of silence.

"No."

"Yeah, okay, stupid question," he coughed. "It was going to come out some time, Callie."

"Yeah, _some time_, which means I could have had a lot longer to myself before people started to find out," I hissed. "If it wasn't for that bitch and her pathetic obsession with you—"

"Um, _what_?!"

Oh for the love of Merlin, I really needed to learn how to keep my damn mouth shut. I wonder if there were classes I could take.

"I don't know," I tried to recover but by his accusing glare it wasn't working. "Just Natalia found out a while ago that I was pregnant when she found my scan in my book after I left it in transfiguration. She… well, she kind of blackmailed me. She said if I didn't get you to go out with her again that she'd tell everyone about _me_," I explained, feeling incredibly stupid. "She thought Albus was the dad… and then I told her I wasn't going to do it anymore and I thought she'd let it go but she obviously hasn't—"

I was crying again. Wow, I really needed to stop crying. Crying wasn't going to solve anything. Crying was only going to make my eyes and stomach hurt, plus it made me look like a little whiny bitch… which I was but I didn't need other people knowing that.

"That explains a lot," James shook his head at me like I was a naughty dog that had just pissed on the floor. "You should have just told me and I could have talked to her… I didn't even know she liked me that much. She seemed fine with it when we broke up before."

"I think she was in love with you," I murmured because it was honestly what I thought. Love can make people do stupid things. "You know, in her own twisted way."

He looked thoughtful. "I think it's more that she loves the idea of being in love with me," he answered rather bitterly. "She loves the idea of being in love with a Potter, someone famous. It was the reason we broke up."

"Why would you say that?"

"I overheard her bragging to her friends the night before the match about being in witch weekly after the paparazzi ran into us on a date. She acted like she hated at the time but she loved it and kept saying about the 'benefits of shagging a Potter'," he sighed and I flinched slightly though I didn't know why. "I didn't mention any of it when we broke up I just said I didn't feel the same, which was also true."

I looked at his crestfallen face and frowned. "Did you really like her?"

"Yeah, she was the only serious girlfriend I've ever had. We had our fights and stuff but I thought we were going to be together for a long time. When I heard her say that I was gutted… I'd never been so hurt in my life. And the next thing I knew I was going to be a dad and I totally freaked."

"So why did you sleep with me if you liked her so much?" I asked hotly, getting angrier by the second.

"We'd 'taken a break' just before the summer because she was going to Italy. We weren't together when me and you slept together, I swear. And then I ran into her about three weeks later and she was saying she wanted me back and that she wanted to give it another go. By that time you were ignoring me and I thought you hated me again so I said yes."

"Hated you again? When did I say I hated you?"

"Well, you never talked to me."

"Because you never talked to me!"

"Every time I did you'd nearly bite my head off," he cried. "Now I get that's just your way of talking but back then I thought you hated me or something." He paused and his lips stretched into a wide smirk. "So you didn't hate me?"

I almost smacked his smug face. "I didn't say I liked you either, Potter."

"Yeah, okay," he smirked and I scowled. "But, anyway, everything will be alright in the end."

"Yeah, of course. Once the name calling, the articles, the fan girls chasing me down the corridors, the pitch forks and the unforgivable curses thrown at me stop."

"Pitch forks? That's _so _last millennium."

"What _are_ you? What actually _are _you?"

He didn't have time to answer as the door swung open making us both almost shit our pants. Coco ran into the room and dropped to her knees in front of me.

"Merlin, I've ran all over the fucking castle looking for you two," she wheezed as Rose plopped beside her, Albus sat beside me and Scorp slammed the door shut. "I think I'm going to throw up."

"You seriously need to do more exercise," Scorp muttered as Coco started to fan her bright red face.

"You've ran about ten feet, seriously," Al put in patronizingly.

"Will you two shut up? Not everyone is as fit as you," an equally out of breath Rose snapped.

"We came to see if you're alright," Coco said once she had caught her breath enough and Rose and Scorp started to argue. They'd been doing that a lot lately. "Natalia's at the hospital wing right now if it makes you feel any better."

"What? Why?"

"Well after you two ran out Natalia said to Albus something like 'shouldn't you be looking after you baby's mama instead of your brother' and then when Dom told her that James was the dad, Natalia freaked. She started rampaging and knocked out Bonnie with a plate. No one could calm her down until Lily hexed her so bad she fell to her knees and passed out in the process."

"She was rushed to the Madam Pomfrey by Neville," Al continued. "I almost recorded it for you, Cal, but I didn't think it was appropriate."

"Then I think everyone went into shock so Sinistra sent everyone to bed," Rose shrugged. "But we came to find you instead."

The sad thing was that I couldn't even enjoy any of that story because the realization that even Sinistra knew about my pregnancy hit me like a ton of bricks. My headmistress knew, which meant all my teachers knew, too, and they were probably going to be looking at me like some horrible delinquent that didn't even deserve to be in their classes. Not only was I going to be judged by the pupils of Hogwarts, I was going to be judged by the staff.

Yep, I was going to have to kill everyone in the school.

"Did anyone say anything?"

"Except from Natalia who called you every name under the sun, no. I think everyone was too shocked by Natalia's outburst to be really thinking of the thing that caused it."

"She looked like a fucking bull who was being kicked up the arse," Scorp whistled. "I would _not _have liked to be Bonnie when she smashed that plate over her head."

"Thank Merlin Lily knew that hex or I think at least one person would have been strangled tonight," Rose agreed.

I felt my blood go cold. What was going to happen when she got out of the hospital wing? I wasn't going to be able to talk my way out or run away again. I was going to be the one hit over the head by a plate… or a hammer. Or was she going to go for the more simple approach of killing me with her bare hands so she didn't need to by weapons?

Well, I never thought I would die in the arms of Natalia McLaggen.

"Not that you have anything to worry about," Rose added hastily but the damage had been done. "We'll be there to fight her off if she comes for you."

"_When_ she comes for you," Scorpius corrected.

Coco gritted her teeth, "You are _so not helping_!"

Great, now I didn't know who to be more frightened off, the papers, the fan girls or Natalia.

I had a funny feeling it was going to be Natalia.

"There you are!" the door opened again as Dom came flying into the room. "Merlin, James, I think you must have chosen the most awkward broom closet in the castle to hide in."

"That was the idea," I muttered under my breath.

"Ow, Dom!" Coco moaned as she clambered over her to sit on Albus' knee.

"Is this really necessary?" Albus grumbled.

"Bloody hell, Dom, you run fast when you want to!" Carly gasped as she entered the, at most, four person broom closet with Lily and Cooper.

"Why aren't you in bed?" James asked Carly as she kneeled next to Rose.

"We came to see if you were okay," Lily answered, jumping over everyone to sit on James' lap. "We didn't know whether to floo home and get mum."

"And we wanted to make sure Natalia hadn't woken up and killed Callie with an axe," Cooper added laughingly.

I didn't find it funny.

"It's is _far _too crowded in here!" Rose screamed as Cooper tripped over Scorp's leg and punched her in the head.

"We were here first!"

"James is my _brother_, I have priority."

"Yeah, and Callie's my sister so suck on that."

"I'd rather not, thanks."

An argument broke out as the door squeaked open again and I began to whack my head repeatedly off the wall.

James growled, "Who the hell is this now?!"

With as much hate as I could muster I looked up at the person only to see Headmistress Sinistra stood in the doorway with a small smirk on her face. James and I instantly curled into the wall and tried to hide ourselves while the other continued to shout, completely oblivious to the woman behind them.

"If you're all quite finished," Sinistra yelled over the noise. "I would like to speak to Mr. Potter and Miss. Denison."

The group silenced immediately and all pointed at James and I at the same second. I scowled at the betrayers as James got to his feet and Albus shoved me in the back so I would stand. Nervous to the point of shaking, I jumped over the legs sprawled along the floor until I crashed into the wall to come to a halt.

"Thank you," Sinistra said as I contemplated escaping through a nearby passage down the hall. "And the rest of you, get to bed before I give you detention."

I had never seen a group of people move so fast in my life. They sprang into action, pushing and shoving each other until they got out the broom closet door and ran off to their respective common rooms without so much as a backwards glance.

Bastards.

"Follow me." Sinistra demanded, wiggling her forefinger threateningly. I followed without fight until we got to her office and were pointed to sit in the seats in front of her desk. I sat awkwardly looking around the large office while Sinistra fiddled with something in a draw. I hadn't been in the headmistress's office many times, only four to the exact. Two involved Albus and I putting dung-bombs into the Slytherin's potions during class, one was when I broke Bones' nose and the other when I hexed Chelsea Vane. However, I knew what was going to happen to me those times (detention), but this time I had no idea what the outcome was going to be.

"So, Miss. Denison," Sinistra looked at me with raised eyebrows. "Would you like to tell me what happened in the Great Hall?"

I shuffled uncomfortably in my seat. "Um, Natalia McLaggen had a bit—freak fit?"

She glared at me. "Not that. I am well aware of Miss. McLaggen's behavior. I'm talking about before that. By your reaction I'm guessing what she said was true."

I let out a shaky breath. "Yes, it was."

"Right," she nodded as my hands began to shake violently. "Well, I think we have things to discuss, don't we? What are you going to do about your N.E.W.T.S?"

"What are my options?"

"You haven't got many," she replied instantly. My heart plummeted. "You can come back next year and we can give you weekend visits home. You can come back in a few years time and do them, or you can study at home and do them through the ministry."

"What if I give the baby up for adoption?"

She looked shocked for a moment but quickly recovered. "In that case you can come back after the summer and continue as normal, I suppose."

"But if we did keep the baby," James interrupted. "She could still finish her N.E.W.T.S, just not in a traditional way."

"If Miss. Denison is willing to then yes, she can."

James sent me a meaningful look as he leaned back in his chair. I decided to ignore it, focusing on Sinistra as she scribbled something down with her orange feather pen.

"Do your families know?" she asked after a minute of tense silence.

"Yes."

"Have you had a check up?"

"Yes."

"And how did it go?"

"Okay, I think. There's nothing wrong with me or the baby and we've got another in a couple of weeks."

"What's your Healer's name?"

"Dana Thane."

She wrote something down. "Okay. We'll get in touch with the hospital just to make sure they know what's going on at school and so we know if anything crops up with them," she informed us. "And we'll make sure your parents know everything. I can't think of anything else right now but I may need to speak to you at a later date."

I jumped to my feet and briskly walked to the door as James said thank-you to Sinistra. I folded my arms to protect myself from the bitter cold as I headed back to the safe haven of the Gryffindor common room. The moving stairs were in my sight when I heard James shouting my name.

"Wait up, woman!" he called, running in front of me and stopping my walking path. "You look awful."

"Thanks," I snapped sarcastically, attempting to walk around him. It didn't work. "You look good, too, arse-hole."

"Hey, hey, what's with the aggression?" James asked resting his hand on my arm. I flinched back, refusing to look him in the eyes because I knew I would break down if I did. "Did you not hear what Sinistra said? You could complete your N.E.W.T.S and we could keep the baby. Of course, we have loads to figure out but this is one thing down—"

"What if I don't want to?"

He stopped and gave me a confused look. "What do you mean?"

"What if I don't want to take my N.E.W.T.S away from school? What if I don't want to bring up a baby? What if I don't want to leave all my friends? What if I just want to carry on as normal?"

"I—but I thought you were thinking about keeping him?"

"Yes, _thinking_. I haven't decided if I want to or not, and what Sinistra just said… if I give the baby up for adoption I could come to school next year and carry on as normal with Al, Rose, Coco, Scorp."

His eyebrows furrowed together as he stared down at me. "Why are you being selfish? This is _our _baby and you want to give it away just because it would be easier for you? How about the fact that he might now even get adopted? Or he will go to a horrible family?"

"I'm not being selfish!" I exploded loudly and a nearby portrait yelled out in protest. "I'm thinking about what's best for everyone, James. I won't have to drop out of school, you can go after your career without anything stopping you, and this baby… this baby might find someone that loves it more than anything and someone that can actually give it a good life. Someone who knows what they hell they are doing and someone who could be a good mum to him, because I'm definitely not going to be a good mum."

"How do you know that?"

"Because it's not like I've had anyone to learn from, is it?" I snipped hotly, my eyes stinging. "My mum left me… twice. Sadly, I share her DNA which means I'll probably be a shit mum, too. I'd rather the baby go to someone who wouldn't be a flight risk from the moment he's born."

"Just because you're mum was shit doesn't mean you're going to be, Callie. We're different people to our parents. Plus, you have your dad's DNA, too, and I know you love him a lot so he must be a good dad," he replied instantly with a hard look. "I'm sure you'll be a good mum or I wouldn't be even asking you to think about keeping him."

Anger bubbled in my stomach and my hands clenched so hard my knuckles turned white. "If I wasn't good enough for my own mother I'm not going to be fucking good enough for my baby, am I?" I shouted thickly… and then regretted ever opening my mouth.

I had just admitted my worst fear to _James Potter_. I'd known him for less than half a year and I had spilled my deepest secret to him… a secret I hadn't even told Coco. I had kept it in for so long and it seemed the bubble had burst. If only it hadn't burst over James Potter.

My heart leapt in my throat and I jumped back like I had been burned. I couldn't believe I had just said that. We stood in silence, James staring at me with wide eyes and me frozen to the floor in shock, fear and regret. The portraits around us muttered and gossiped in their old frames and a group of middle-aged woman in the corner sat around a table, watching James and I like we were a 1990's sitcom. Suddenly feeling very claustrophobic, I shoved past James and ran to the stairs, ignoring him as he started to run after me. I didn't slow down until I was on the girls dormitory stairs and I knew James couldn't follow me up because of the enchantments.

"You look like you've seen a ghost," Rose said as I closed the door behind me. "Are you alright?"

"Why didn't you tell us you're up the duff?" Megan questioned straightforwardly, raising her eyebrows with a stern glare. "It would have saved the whole incident in the hall."

"Leave her alone, Meg, she obviously isn't feeling too good," Linda scolded.

"Does it look like I care? She shouldn't have lied to us about having a stomach bug. You wasted sickness tablets on her."

"Shut up, Megan," Coco huffed. "It was none of your damn business, that's why we didn't tell you."

"Not only that but you're a manic gossip so everyone would have found out ten seconds after we told you," Rose added. "And Callie didn't want anyone to know."

"Well, that's gone well considering the whole school knows now… expect it to be on the front page tomorrow morning. No doubt someone will have gone to the media."

Those words pushed me over the edge. I rushed into the bathroom and threw myself over the toilet to spew everything I had. Tomorrow I was going to be number one target in the press… and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

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**Thoughts?**

**Do you like my quick-ish update? I'm getting better, promise. I've just got to grips with all my stories again and I'm getting back into writing a lot more, so fingers crossed updates are faster.**

**-Laylax**


	26. Self-pity, single dad and biggest mistak

**Don't own anything except OC's. **

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**Chapter 26. Self-pity, single dad and biggest mistake**

"_That's_ her? Why would James sleep with _her_?"

"Who even is she? Have you seen her before?"

"I don't like her."

"Slut."

Those were just some of the wonderful things I heard the next day as I walked down the corridors of Hogwarts. I had contemplated just staying in my bed all day and wallowing in self-pity, but, sadly, my roommate is Rose Weasley and the mere mention of skipping classes receives a scary death glare and rant. I was pretty sure I would have been hexed by her, too, if I wasn't pregnant with her second cousin.

So I had to endure the glares, the laughs, the scoffs and the jokes. I put all my effort into being invisible that day, I sat at the back of the classes and didn't speak to anyone. The teachers, contrary to my previous thoughts, didn't give a shit about me being pregnant. As long as I finished the word and handed it in on time, it became clear that teachers really didn't care about what the students did. One of two gave me a hard, disappointing look, but other than that they ignored me.

That couldn't be said for the student population.

It was like I was a celebrity that had visited the school for the day. Whenever Harry Potter or Ron Weasley came to the school everyone went into a frenzy. Girls fainted, boys hopped around like bunnies on crack, and the relatives of Harry or Ron scoffed and sulked until said relative left. Albus hated it when his dad came back for a lecture, he glared at anyone who asked him about it and cursed all the way through the lesson. Naturally, I found his pain hilarious and sarcastically mentioned to anyone who would listen just to see Albus' face when the person started to squeal and clap.

He once threw a pie in Lane Bones' face for asking him if his dad would sign an autograph. Albus got detention for a week, I laughed for three hours. It was a good day.

Anyway, my plan of invisibility wasn't working so well. I had even avoided my friends all day with the hope that if I walked around on my own people wouldn't pay attention to the loner. Apparently, being on my own made me more vulnerable. Go figure.

By the time lunch came I was about three comments away from exploding. I could feel my anger bubbling in my stomach and I was gulping ever three second just to keep it contained. On the way to the hall a group of Ravenclaw's shouted that I was a bitch, two Slytherin's laughed and pointed at me, three Gryffindor's tittered as they passed me and a group of Hufflepuff's sent me sympathetic looks.

I gave them the finger. Sympathy was worse than hate.

"Excuse me, if it true you're pregnant?"

"YES!" I screeched shrilly to the person, expecting some bastard Slytherin that wanted to snigger at me. Instead, I saw a little girl with brown eyes the size of dinner plates and about four foot tall. Tears welled up in her Bambi-like eyes and she ran off, sobbing dramatically.

I hate my life.

"Screaming at innocent children now, Callie-bean?" a voice that I knew so well and wished I didn't. "There was no need to make her cry now, was there?"

"Piss off, Malfoy. I've got no tolerance for your shit."

Scorpius smiled in amusement. "Malfoy?"

"Leave her alone, Scorp, she's stressed," Rose scolded. "Callie, want to go to the kitchens for lunch?"

"It's better than the hall," I sniffed as Coco skipped over and linked arms with me. "If one more Slytherin dares to insult me I swear to Merlin I'm going to cast an unforgivable."

"Now, now, let's not get send to Azkaban just yet," Albus primed as we headed for the kitchens. "I don't think it'll be very nice for the kid if it's born in a prison cellar, do you?"

We took a seat at the table in the kitchens as Rose told the house elves what we wanted. She was hugging one when I looked over. Rose had a strange obsession with house elves and their rights and, while I thought they were entitled for everything a Wizard is, it was rather creepy. I mentioned this once to her dad, he laughed until he was red in the face and said it must be hereditary. I still don't get it.

"Have you seen the papers?" Coco asked as we waited.

"No," I sighed. "Are they bad?"

They all looked uncomfortable. My heart plummeted to my arse. "Well, they're not good..." Albus trailed off, running his hand through his hair.

I snatched the paper from the counter beside me and sure enough on the front page was the headline '_Harry Potter's going to be a grandpa!'_ and a picture of James from the latest Hogsmeade trip with Dom and Freddie beside him, while there was a small, and awful, picture of me from last year when I had gone to Diagon Alley with the Potter's.

I remembered that day well. My dad had been called for an emergency at work and my Aunt Annie had gone to the Lake District with Sage, so there was no one to take us for our sixth year things. Albus had offered to go with them and, without thinking it through, we agreed. Ten minutes after arriving the paparazzi flooded the streets wanting a shot of the Potter's or Weasley's. We had to fight our way to every shop through the massive crowd while bright camera's blinded me. It was the day I became eternally glad that my family wasn't famous or going to be in the future. I hated every second of the day and I had to go back with my dad the week after anyway because I wasn't able to get everything I needed. The crowd had become too rowdy and we had had to emergency apparate back to the Potter's before anyone got hurt.

I had been scarred for weeks while Albus had shrugged after landing (and seeing mine and Coco's incredulous look) in a way that said 'it's life'.

I felt sorry for him in some ways.

I scanned the article and my stomach churned as I got to the bit about me.

_James Potter, 18, son to Harry Potter, is going to be a dad! Mr. Potter, who is known for his cheeky and misbehaving attitude, said to be inherited from his grandpa, James Potter I, has gotten a girl from his school pregnant. The woman is said to be named Calliope Denison, eldest daughter of the Head Obliviator, Adrian Denison, and is sixteen… and best friend to Albus Potter, Harry Potter's second son. _

_A source had this to say. "I don't think I've even seen James and Callie talk before. They were never friends, I don't even think they liked each other. Everyone reckoned there was something going on between Albus and Callie, which I still think there is, because they always hung about together. I don't even know how she got James to sleep her. It must have involved some kind of love potion or curse because James wouldn't have done it otherwise… personally I think she got knocked up on purpose because she likes the attention and money. I mean, I wouldn't put it past her."_

_So is there a rivalry between the famous Potter brothers? If our favorite family about to break apart? _

_Send us your comments by owl!_

"So, basically, the articles say that I'm a pathetic bitch that drugs men to get myself pregnant and that I'm making your family hate each other?"

"Pretty much."

"Brilliant."

Sighing, I put the paper back on the table and pushed it away from me like it was poison. Everyone in the Wizard world was going to think I was a mental case and needed to be institutionalized before I got every famous guy to knock me up. Oh, merlin, even my family were going to see this. My Aunt Annie was going to go _crazy_. She was probably already strangling the editor of the paper, my Nana will have fainted, and Natasha and Kristina were probably dancing on bars… mostly because that's what they do every night, but it will also have some effect on them that I was slammed for the nation to see.

"Hey, it's not that bad," Coco said.

"How is it not that bad?"

She blanched. "I have nothing comforting to say. Rose, help me!"

"They'll find something else to gossip about soon, Callie," Rose soothed. "I promise. The papers soon get bored of things."

"I dunno like, Rose. This is pretty big, I don't think it's going to blow over fast—OW!"

"Shut the hell up, idiot!" Rose snapped. "You need to learn to control your mouth."

Albus snorted and looked at Scorp. "You're an idiot."

"Um, hey guys," a voice interrupted suddenly. James was stood by the door looking awkward and determined. "Callie, can I talk to you?"

_No_.

My body didn't work well with my brain so I found myself getting up and walking to him. After my downright embarrassing confession last night, I didn't want to be around him. He was going to want to talk about it, I knew he was. He was going to get me to talk about my feelings and all that other deep stuff that I hated to talk about to people. I just wanted him to forget about it.

I wonder if I could practice my obliviating skills on him…

"So, listen, I want to talk something over with you."

Oh, here it is, what the fuck was I going to do?

"This morning I went home to talk to my mum," I raised my eyebrows at him, I wasn't expecting that. "We had a really long talk about everything and… and we came to the decision that if you don't want to raise the baby, I will."

I froze.

"_What_?"

"After what you said last night I realized that you aren't going to change your mind on this adoption thing, but I don't want to give up the baby so I needed to talk to my mum. We agreed that we don't want to give it up and she promised that she would help me as much as she can if I wanted to keep the baby myself. And, well, I've thought it over and I want this baby, Callie, and if you don't want it with me then I'm going to do it on my own."

He said it so boldly, so confidently that I didn't dare argue back. Then again, really, I had nothing to argue about, but with James I always seemed to argue so it was a natural reaction. I looked into his brown eyes and saw the fire in them.

"You really want to do that?" I unintentionally whispered. "You want to bring the baby up on your own?"

"Well, no, I'd rather you be there, too. But if you don't want the baby then, yeah."

"So in the space of a month you've went from hating and denying the baby to wanting to bring it up on your own?"

He sighed and glared slightly at me. "Do you really have to throw that back in my face?"

"It's a hard thing to forget," I chuckled bitterly. I paused and he shuffled, but still held his bold stance. "And you think you can do this?"

"Yeah, I've got a great family. They'll help me. My parents and grandparents have already told me they'll help as much as they can and I've got another hundred relatives I can turn to for help, and friends."

I stopped and looked over at the stone wall behind James. I hated to admit it but it sounded like a good plan. We were both getting what we wanted. My baby was going to a loving and safe home and James was getting to keep the baby like he wanted. Plus, I was going to be able to carry on my life as normal, get my N.E.W.T.S (though that seemed less important than it did this-morning), hang out with friends, while my baby stayed at the Potter's… a floo ride away from me.

Maybe James would let me visit a few times a week…

No. No, I wasn't going to do that to my baby. I wasn't going to pop in and out of its life. I wasn't going to be a potential flight risk for the rest of his life. I wasn't going to do what my mum did to me and give it hope, only to crush it like a tiny bug.

I was either in or out, and the best thing for this baby was for me to be out completely.

I was doing the right thing.

"Okay." I murmured, my fight disappearing quicker than it appeared. "Okay. We can do that."

"Okay?" James beamed excitedly. I nodded, trying to plaster a smile to my face. "Brilliant. Wow, I thought I was going to have to put up more of a fight than that."

"No, you're right. You have the right to have your child without me," I replied. "And at least I know the baby is going to a loving home. I was really worried about that."

"Great. So we all get what we want," James nodded twice.

"I suppose."

"I'll see you later then, yeah?" he turned and started to walk away. He stopped before he turned the corner and I sucked in a breath to stop my flow of tears threatening to escape. "By the way, seven girls have already asked me what love potions you used on me," he grinned boyishly. "I told them the one from the WWW so my Uncle gets more business. Hope you're okay with that."

I glared. "You annoy me."

"Hey, shouldn't you be apologizing for drugging me? Or even turning me against my brother? Apparently, I hate him now."

"Go and take a long walk off a short cliff."

"Well, that's not nice is it," he smirked and I folded my arms. "By the way, I totally forgive you for drugging me to sleep with you."

"Ew. You weirdo."

He winked. "Anytime, love, anytime."

And then he was gone and I was left to sink to the floor and sob. About what, I didn't really know. I was getting what I wanted, I was getting my normal life back and my baby was going to be safe and loved.

So why did I still feel like shit?

The bell rang minutes later and I rushed to my next lesson, hoping silently that Coco had grabbed my bag from the kitchen. She had, she handed it to me in lesson with an accusing look and smile. She didn't notice my red eyes and for once I was thankful that my sister was so oblivious to obvious things. By the time lessons ended my eyes had stopped stinging and I made my way back to the common room with the others. I took a seat next to the fireplace, I seat I realized that I greatly missing having avoided the common room in fear of running into Natalia or someone noticing my bump.

Hey, at least one good thing came out of people finding out.

That's me, always looking on the bright side of things.

A few minutes later James and his friends came into the common room and took various spaces around the fire. James sat on the arm of my chair and grinned at me, looking a lot happier than I had seen him in weeks. I looked at the flickering flames of the fire, ignoring the boisterous chatting around me and trying to concentrate on anything but my feelings because I knew if I did I would break down.

I couldn't help but think I was making the biggest mistake of my life.

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**Thoughts?**

**Sorry for the late update, I've been meaning to get it out for days but I've been so busy with homework and school and... well, there's a lot going on. **

**Thanks for the reviews, alerts and favourites!**

**Thanks,**

**Laylax**


	27. Letters, loving Freddie and Hogsmeade

**Don't own anything except OC's.**

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**Chapter 27. Letters, loving Freddie and Hogsmeade**

A few days later I was awoken by a knocking on the window beside my bed. Annoyed I had looked up, only to fall off the bed in excitement when I recognized my dad's brown and white owl. I snatched the letter and fed the squealing bird a treat as I ripped the letter open. My dorm mates had already gone down for breakfast but I had, as always, chosen sleep over food so there was no one leaning over my shoulder trying to read it.

_Hello my dear children,_

_Thanks for the letters you've sent me since you got back to Hogwarts. They were so heartfelt and lovely and made me so proud you be your dad. And if you haven't caught on yet, that was sarcasm because none of you buggers have sent me a letter yet… and no, Bruce, I letter from your Headmistress telling me how much trouble you have been in this term does not count, no matter how much you fight your corner._

_Now, if this is any other child than Callie (which it shouldn't be because I told Jesse to go to Callie, but that bird is bloody stupid on the best of days), then go away and give it to her. I need to speak—well write—to her now. I read the article in the paper about what happened and though I don't know how people found out because I know you were waiting, I hate whoever spread it… just don't tell anyone I said that. And my dear, sweet (snort), Callie, don't worry everything will be fine. In fact, Aunt Annie has already threatened to castrate the editor of the paper so I don't think he'll be writing any stories about you soon. Well, he won't if he's smart. _

_Send me a letter anytime, Cal. I'm always here to listen—okay, read—if you need me. I'll write back as soon as I can but Jesse is getting old so don't blame me if they get back a little late. Blame the bird. _

_You're Aunt Annie says be strong and prosper… whatever that means. I think it's meant to be encouraging but it's rather silly if you ask me… and now she's hit me. Brilliant._

_Love, your dad._

_P.S. tell Bruce that he is about three detentions away from me coming down there and hexing him. I don't care if counts as cruelty, I've gotten sixteen letter since he's been back… SIXTEEN! His mother is having a fit and keeps threatening me with a wooden spoon. I haven't looked a wooden spoon the same way for three weeks…_

_P.P.S. I had a lovely visit from Joshua yesterday. He stormed in my house screaming about murdering and burning James Potter to a pulp, then proceeded to punch a rather ugly (yet damn impressive) hole in my living room wall, smash three plates and a chair. I managed to convince him not to floo to Hogwarts and kill Potter, but I wouldn't be surprised if James goes missing in the Easter holidays. Just saying._

_P.P.P.S. when is your next Hogsmeade trip? I'll meet you in the Three Broomsticks for lunch._

The letter made a shit-eating grin spread on my face… which was then ruined by Rose and Coco bursting into the room. They promptly demanded that I get dressed (Coco even tried to strip me herself) because we were going down to the lake to sit in the sun. Therefore, I was going to the lake to sit in the shade of the oak tree while the others sunbathed. Exciting.

I found myself under the tree fifteen minutes later, Coco, Rose, Dom and Carly had made an oddly shaped circle around me and were gossiping about boys and make-up. As I have no interest in either matter, I sat grabbing handfuls of grass and ripping it from the ground to fling at Coco. She kept screaming every time I flung a grass-bomb at her but didn't try to stop me.

"What about Marvin Samuels?" Dom asked as I tuned back into the conversation, bored of grass killing. "He's cute and his body is amazing because he's a beater."

"He's alright," Rose shrugged. "He's dumber than a brick, though. He once asked me how to spell Charms."

"How can you not know how to spell Charms?"

"He thought there was a silent 'e' in it."

Carly giggled. "He's nice, but he's a little too… cutesy for me."

Dom scoffed and rolled her light blue eyes. "You're only saying that because you're in love with Freddie."

Rose gasped, Coco stopped picking the grass that she was surely getting to throw at me, and I froze and stared at Carly like she had said she was from Mars. It took Dom 4.6 seconds to realize what she had said and she slapped her hand over her mouth and looked incredibly guilty. Carly blushed brighter than Rose's hair and looked to the floor.

_Freddie_? Surely that had to be some kind of joke. Why would Carly like _Freddie_? Sure, he was a nice guy and all, but totally not the kind of guy I had in mind for Carly. I expected Carly to go for a quiet, caring, studious type that drowned her in roses and chocolates and Freddie was so… not that kind of guy. Freddie had farting contests in the common room, he hated any type of work, preferring to scar first years with pranks rather than study for exams, and was obnoxious to the point of being rude.

_Freddie?_

"Freddie?" Rose spluttered. "Weasley? As in my cousin that burps the alphabet after having a fizzy drink? _That _Freddie?"

"Well, yeah," Carly shrugged, picking determinedly at the grass. "He's just always been there, you know? We were best friends—still are—I just couldn't help it," she paused. "I've loved him since I was eight, it's hard to stop after so long."

"_Eight_? That's nearly a decade, Carly," Coco squeaked.

"I _knnoooowww_," she whined. "I can't help it! He's so… _Fred_."

"Yeah, 'cause that makes sense," I snorted.

She giggled slightly and memories started to flood back. _Though Freddie hates it, I think his list is longer than everyone else's put together. Carly is particularly hard on him,_ I remembered James saying during the first civilised conversation we had. When I thought back, Carly always stared at Freddie just a little too long, or talked about him just a little too much. It wasn't obvious, but wasn't exactly well hidden, either.

"AHH!"

I looked up just in time to see Albus racing towards me at an alarming speed. Automatically, I reached out and grasped his legs so he fell to the floor on his butt instead of into the water. He sent me a grateful look as he stood and started to rub his butt for everyone to see, hopping around in pain.

I sure know how to choose my friends.

"What the hell—" Coco yelled as Scorpius crashed into her. She kicked him onto the ground and scowled as he rolled and groaned on the floor.

"We were having a race," Albus informed us. "Forgot about the hill. We couldn't stop ourselves."

"You're such an idiot," I shook my head.

He rolled his eyes. "Thanks, witch."

"Insulting."

"It was meant to be."

James sat next to me then and nodded, I smiled slightly at him. I still didn't know how to act around him. Ever when we talked I always felt like there was an undeniable tension that neither of us dared to point out. If we were normal people we would have talked this whole situation out like mature adults, but, let's face it, we were neither normal nor mature, so we both just carried on as if nothing had happened. It was working for now but I was waiting for the moment something happened and shit hit the fan.

Soon our small circle had turned into a group of people that just sat anywhere they wanted. The conversation picked up in noise and I watched in interest as Freddie walked over to Carly and pretended to fall on her. She laughed and blushed as he sat next to her and flung his arms around her shoulders. She bloomed red then, a small smile gracing her lips as Freddie started joking around with Dylan.

"James," I said, tearing my eyes away from the pair once I felt like I was intruding in on Carly. "About yesterday, could we wait a bit before we tell people? I need to break it to my dad before everyone else finds out."

He nodded. "Sure. You can have as long as you want… you may even change your mind yet."

He looked hopeful so I shrugged instead of outright telling him I wouldn't. I wished I could tell him that I had changed my mind, that we would bring the baby up together, but I couldn't. If I changed my mind at the last minute, which I was bound to do (it was in my DNA after all), it would crush him. I didn't want to hurt him… you know, because he's my… friend.

Don't give me that look.

I awkwardly pulled on the end of my jumper. "How's Quidditch practice?" I asked quickly.

"It's alright," he nodded and I almost let out a sigh of relief that the subject had been changed. "Dylan could work on his blocking skills a little harder."

"Piss off, Potter," Dylan snapped from opposite us. "It's not my fault Louis almost broke my arm."

"Don't be so dramatic!" Louis called from where he was sat flirting unsubtly with Coco. "If you could catch better then your arm wouldn't have bent that way."

James rolled his eyes at me and I snorted… I'm so ladylike.

We walked back to the castle when the sky started to turn dark, James still yapping about Quidditch in my ear. I nodded absentmindedly at him as I thought about what had happened in the past week. Everything had been turned upside down, was my decision on James' plan irrational? Or was it smart? The only person I knew would understand was my dad.

On the bright side, however, Natalia had been let out the hospital yesterday and had yet to kill me. I heard a rumour that Sinistra warned her that she would be excluded if she did hurt me, so that may have had something to do with it. Although, I doubt that will stop Natalia completely.

I escaped to the peacefulness of my dormitory to respond to my dad.

_Hey dad._

_Sorry I haven't written more, I've been busy… as you'll probably know from the newspaper article. I'll tell Bruce to write more but I can't see it happening. Also, your sarcasm is not appreciated. _

_How everyone found out is complicated, but long story short, Natalia McLaggen (James' ex) hates me. She blackmailed me for a bit after she found my scan picture so that I would help her get back together with James (as this point she thought Albus was the dad) and then got angry when I didn't succeed. Then she announced to the whole damn great hall that I was pregnant. It was fun. I ran out, James followed, Albus broke the news that James is the dad, Natalia had a mental breakdown, and now she's banned from being within ten feet of me, which is a positive. _

_Josh is mental. That's all I have to say on that._

_Never mind his mum, _I'm _going to hit him if he gets another detention. I'll talk to him._

_The next Hogsmeade trip is in two weeks, please, please meet us there. I really want to talk to you._

_Love you, _

_Callie xxx_

I went to bed after that, being the boring fart I am, too tired from thinking to face the day any longer.

Natalia didn't bother me for the next two weeks, sure, she sent me dirty looks and made a slitting motion on her throat at me once or twice, but she hadn't attacked me yet (mostly because I stuck to people like glue when she was around). Three days after it was announced that I was up the duff, Jay Marson was found snogging his best friend, Luke Bronler, in the broom closet on the sixth floor. This was the best news in a month for me (I even hugged Marson in potions, he knocked over his cauldron in shock), however the couple weren't so impressed with their new found attention. Luke even hexed a girl for congratulating him on 'coming out' just before DADA, then proceeded to punch in the door and glare so fiercely at a first year the little guy burst out crying.

It was a rather eventful day.

After that people seemed to forget about me, my rounded baby bump the only thing that people really noticed anymore. Some people still whispered or sniggered when I passed, but it had gotten a hell of a lot better than it was.

I avoided James in the two weeks leading up to Hogsmeade, it was too uncomfortable between us, especially when it was just me and him. We even had a long conversation about the changes in the weather one day. I walked away after an hour out of pure embarrassment. Just as things had gotten simpler between us, it had spiralled down twice as fast as it had come.

On the actual Hogsmeade trip I spent the whole morning bouncing up and down in my seat waiting for Coco to finish her breakfast. As soon as her last bite was in her mouth, I grabbed her wrist and dragged at an alarming speed, leaving her squawking in protest a foot behind me. We got to the Three Broomsticks for eleven, the time my dad had said he was meeting us, and I marched us to the corner booth, waving at Teddy Lupin, who had come to meet the Weasley-Potter's for the day, as I passed him.

"Do you want a butterbeer?" Coco asked, already walking away.

She had set the glasses down when I saw my dad walk in, taking off his jacket and looking for us. I ran at him like a little girl, I'd missed him too much for it to be healthy.

He looked at me once he had set Coco down and grinned. "Well, you're looking pregnant."

Despite how much I had missed him, I glared. "Are you being serious? Of course I look pregnant, you nitwit."

"Alright, moody, I just meant you're looking a lot bigger than the last time I saw you."

"Thanks. What a way to boost my self-confidence."

"It's what I'm here for."

Oh, how I had missed him.

"So how's school?" dad asked as we settled into the booth.

"Its fine," Coco answered. "Especially now people aren't staring at Callie she's a freak show anymore."

I hissed. "You said people weren't looking!"

"I lied."

I nipped her, she deserved it.

As we got onto the subject of how Aunt Annie threatened the editor of the paper and described in detail of how she was going to castrate him (apparently he nearly threw up), Albus came over to the table, having come ten minutes ago to meet Teddy.

"Hey, Cal, sorry to interrupt but there's a woman at the bar asking for you. I don't know how she is but she seemed pretty desperate."

Confused, I glanced over, but the mysterious woman seemed to be blocked. Too curious to ignore it, I walked with Albus back to the bar and skirted through the people to the woman. Then I almost fainted.

Stood with a black shiny handbag hanging off her arm and red leather heels was someone I never thought I would see again for the rest of my life. Someone I despised and loved more than I cared to admit.

My mum.

* * *

**Thoughts?**

**I was wondering, does anyone reading this story also read Twilight ones? I'm thinking about posting my Twilight stories soon and I was wondering if any of you were going to read those, too?**

**Thank you for the reviews, favourites and alerts! I love you guys!**

**-Laylax**


	28. Mum, father-daughter talks, kicking

**Don't own anything except OC's.**

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**Chapter 28. Mum, father-daughter talks, kicking**

My body froze and my heart dropped to my arse.

I couldn't believe she was _here_. Six years I hadn't seen or heard a peep from her, and she was here in Hogsmeade, stood in front of me with a nervous and hopeful expression. I didn't know what to do, what to feel. Should I be happy? Sad? Angry? I stood in silence for five minutes, the buzzing crowd around me began to make my brain throb.

Then, I exploded.

"What the _hell_ are you doing here?"

She flinched and everyone in the pub paused to look over. I was too furious to care.

Albus grumbled, "Bloody hell, Callie, I think you've burst my ear drums."

"Callie, please, I don't—"

"Please _what_? Please don't get angry that you abandoned me?"

"Abandoned you?" Albus repeated curiously. His eyes flickered between me and my mother, taking in the similarities of our strawberry blonde hair and blue eyes. "Merlin, is this your mum?"

"She's supposed to be, but she doesn't deserve the title," I said through clenched teeth.

"What's the shouting about?" Coco placed her hand on my shoulder and scrunched her eyebrows together. "I think you've broke a glass down there—_mum_?"

"What are you doing here, Edith?" my dad's angry voice said from behind me.

Edith looked between us, shaking slightly. "I—I… I don't know," she breathed. "I saw Calliope in the papers and the next thing I knew I was down here. A woman told me this was your Hogsmeade weekend so I came back to see you—"

"To _see_ me?" I seethed. "You haven't _seen _me for six years. Why should now be any fucking different?"

"Merlin, I know, I'm sorry—"

"_Sorry_? You're _sorry_? Oh, well, that's fine then. That makes up for _everything_."

Sarcasm was _so_ not the way to go here.

"I know I'm a bitch—"

"You think?"

"—but leaving you was the worst mistake of my life."

"Then why did you?" Coco asked attentively, her eyes watering. I wrapped my arms around her shoulders and squeezed. She'd shed enough tears for this woman already.

"I—you were better off without me," she stuttered nervously. I scoffed disbelievingly. "I was a terrible mum. Your dad was so much better than me—"

"Maybe that's because he brought us up for eight years one his own," I snapped. "You tend to learn things."

"I was in a bad place," she tried to defend herself… rather pathetically in my opinion. "All I was doing was hurting you. I couldn't look after you in the state I was in. It was better for me to leave."

"Oh, me, me, me, me. I don't give a shit if you were in a bad place or not," I practically growled. My chest rumbled and everything, it would have been cool if I wasn't so pissed off. "I would have understood if you left for a month or so, but _eight years_. Surely it couldn't have taken that long to get over your pathetic problems—"

"By the time I got over them it was too late—"

"Bullshit," my dad cut in as Coco started to cry into my shoulder. "You could have come back anytime, you know that. I would have welcomed you with open arms and so would the girls. You _chose_ not to come back, Edith. No one put a gun to your head to keep you away. You're just selfish, you always have been, and you always will be. And you know what, you don't deserve my girls. They're far too good for you."

Albus nodded energetically at his words and sent Edith a bitchy look. I smirked in combed my fingers through Coco's hair like my dad used to do when we cried.

"We don't want you," I said, calmer than before. It was a shock to even me, I had run over this situation in my head so many times and each time ended with me forgiving my mum, but real life was different from dreams and imagination. In real life, I realized, I didn't want her, I had everything I could need for a family. "Leave us alone and stop messing us around."

I led Coco through the crowd of people and out the door, not glancing back even once. I led Coco to a bench near the forest and sat down with her as she began to sob. My dad sat on the other side and she immediately manoeuvred into his arms. I sat watching as my sister broke down in my dad's arms. I wanted to cry with her, to let out my emotions but I couldn't. I didn't have it in me to cry… maybe I was too adrenalized from the anger I had felt only moments ago… or maybe I had ran out of tears.

"Callie, are you alright?" Albus dropped down in front of me.

I ruffled his messy hair. "No, not really, but I will be."

"Fuck, it was intense," Albus gulped. "I've never felt so awkward in my life."

"Even the time you called Miss McGonagall mam at the Christmas party?"

He chuckled, "Okay, maybe the second awkward."

"There you are!" a voice shouted, James came running over and dropped down next to Albus. "Are you okay? She hasn't induced early labour or anything, has she?"

I rolled my eyes. "No, James, I'm not in labour."

"Just checking. My mum told me not to get your too angry and I think smoke has just come out your ears back there… then again she couldn't blame me if it wasn't me that pissed you off."

"I'll make sure you're mum doesn't bat bogey hex you," I said, he shivered at the thought.

"Is Coco okay?" James whispered after she let out a loud sob.

"No," I muttered. "Having my dad will help her, though."

"Callie, I'm going to take Coco back to the castle and have a word with Sinistra," dad told me, holding Coco up and carefully walking with her. "Will you be okay with these two? I'll find you afterwards."

I nodded and he walked off. 'I'll find you afterwards' usually meant he wanted to talk about something important. Albus helped me to my feet and we strolled back to the castle and to the kitchens. No one else had followed Al and James and I was grateful for that, I hated sympathy from people, plus I was sure to break down any minute and I wanted the least people possible around when it happened.

I stayed in the kitchen for hours, listening to Albus and James as they laughed and joked while checking the clock every two seconds. I didn't know how long it was going to take to calm down Coco, she could get hysterical at times… mostly when our mum was involved. Seeing her again must have broken her heart… though I think it hardened mine even more. After two hours Albus went to find Rose, who was probably about to get a hernia by now, to tell her we were okay, leaving James and I alone.

_Awkward._

"When did your mum leave?" he questioned suddenly through the silence. "You don't have to tell me, only if you want—"

"The first time she left when I was two," I interrupted his excessive babbling. "Then she came back when I was ten and left just before Hogwarts."

"Why did she go back?"

I shrugged. "Don't know. Probably for some stupid reason that no one would understand except her."

"She messed you and Coco up pretty bad, huh?"

I whipped my head up to glare and shout at him, only to look into his eyes. They weren't jokey or malicious, it was more of an observation than something that he thought was funny.

I bit back my screams and sniffled. "Yeah, I suppose she did."

He stared at me for a long time and I looked back to my knees, uncomfortable holding his gaze for too long. I couldn't read him and that scared me.

"Callie," my dad appeared at the door. I smiled slightly at James and ran over to my dad, slipping under his arm for the warmth and comfort. Tears sprang into my eyes but I blinked them back. He was probably sick of people that looked like me crying today. "Sorry I took so long. It took an hour to calm Coco down and then Sinistra went on and on… anyway, how are you doing?"

"I'm fine," I lied. The most common lie a woman tells, according to _Witch Weekly _magazine. "A bit shaken."

"I'm sorry I left you," he apologized, squeezing my shoulders. "Coco was in bits, though—"

"Yeah, I know, I'm glad you went to her."

He smiled at me as we settled into an alcove in the hallway with a muti-coloured glass window inside. I sat, legs outstretched, closer to the window while my dad sat opposite me, his legs bent against the wall because of the limited space. "I knew you could handle yourself better than Coco," he murmured after a while. "It's been like that since you were kids. You were always the stronger one… not that Coco isn't strong… she's just a lot more sensitive than you are, or maybe she isn't as good at hiding her emotions."

I kicked the stone wall. "I think it's a bit of both."

"Probably," he agreed, nodding. "What did you want to talk about, anyway? It seemed serious in your letter."

I fiddled with the end of my jumper. "It's about the baby—"

"Yeah, I got that."

I glowered at him for a second. "James and I were called to Sinitra's office after everyone found out," I motioned to my bump. "And Sinistra said that I could do my N.E.W.T.S. from home or in a few years… then she said that if I gave the baby up for adoption I could come back in September like usual. James and I got into a fight about keeping the baby… he really wants to raise it and I, well, I don't think I can. So now he's saying that he's going to raise it on his own if I don't want too."

My dad stared at me and then smiled lightly. "Do you _want _to give the baby up for adoption?"

I swallowed thickly. "No… but surely it's the right thing to do. I'm sixteen, I don't have much money, I haven't finished my N.E.W.T.S, I'll never get a good job—I have too much against me… and I don't think I'd be a good mum."

"So that's really the problem?" dad said, smirking. "You don't think you're going to be a good mum?"

"I don't think that's such a stupid thought."

"It's not stupid, it natural. No one thinks they're going to be a good parent… and those feelings are probably heightened by the fact that you're in the situation you're in," he paused. "But you're wrong."

"What?"

"You're wrong. You won't be a bad mum. You'll be an amazing mum, Callie. I've seen the way you act with Coco, and Sage and Bruce for that matter. You've got a maternal side that you don't even realize you have. And you won't be alone, you'll have me, Annie, Coco, James, Albus, plus all the Weasley-Potter's and there about a million of them, isn't there?"

"Nearly," I sniffed.

"You need to think about it, Callie," he whispered after a while. "You need to stop thinking you're like your mum, Callie, because you're nothing like her."

"How did you know—"

"I know how you think, Callie," he grinned. "I am your dad after all."

"You're a brilliant dad," I muttered.

He smiled, "And you'd be a brilliant mum," I shrugged at him and he sighed. "Do you want to talk about you're mum?"

"There's nothing to talk about," I mumbled. "She's back, I don't want her to be, and therefore I'm not talking to her again."

"Still stubborn I see."

"Always."

We sat and talked for hours, though we didn't talk about Edith or my baby. It was like it was before, we chatted until dark about random things and then hugged goodbye. I promised to write more and then I vacated to bed, sneaking around the dorm so I didn't wake anyone up. Coco was passed out, her hair a mess and still in her day clothes but I didn't dare wake her. She looked peaceful and I didn't want to disturb that.

I started to wonder how I could cheer her up tomorrow—

Whoa.

What was that?

I pulled my bed top on fully and stared down at my stomach. Then I felt the fluttering again.

Was the baby kicking?

I put my hand against my stomach and waited, I jumped when I felt a small prod against my hand.

WHY DID THIS HAVE TO HAPPEN WHEN NO ONE WAS AWAKE?!

Without really thinking, I skirted out of the dorm and raced up the boys stairs. I smiled as I did, remembering all the times Rose, Coco and I had ran into the dorm to scare Albus and he was never allowed to get us back because boys couldn't get up the girls stairs. Last year we stole all of his things and replaced them with racy women's underwear. One of the funniest days of my life was Albus Potter coming into the Great Hall with a pair of lacy red knickers, flicking them into Rose's face and then declaring he was wearing spare underwear from his truck that were three sizes too small. He walked around like a bludger bat was stuck up his bum for the rest of the day.

I opened the seventh year boys door as quietly as I could, hoping Freddie's incredibly loud snores drowned out any noise I made. James' bed was the closet to the bathroom door, he looked cute when he slept, almost innocent. His hair was messier than usual and he had one leg thrown out the cover. When I realized I was staring at him like some creepy stalker girl, I sat on his bed, one hand on my stomach as I felt the baby kick while the other gently shook James awake.

"Wazzgoinon?" he grumbled groggily.

"James, it's me," I whispered, flinching when Freddie let out a particularly loud snort. "The baby's kicking."

"Wha'?"

"The baby's kicking," I repeated, forcefully taking his hand and replacing mine with it.

He blinked several times. "Wow," he breathed. "That's amazing."

I grinned, watching as he rested the other hand on my stomach. If it were any other time, I probably would have freaked out by now, but all I felt was happiness. The baby suddenly stopped kicking and James frowned.

"It's stopped."

"Well it can't kick forever," I replied. "I think most mums would end up insane if they did."

"You're already insane."

My lips twitched at his sleepy tone, he snorted and flopped back onto the bed like a fish, his eyes closing instantly. "James?"

"Mhmm?"

"I want to keep the baby."

"Seriously?"

"Yes."

He smiled widely but didn't open his eyes. Slowly, he reached out as if to warn me he was about to touch me, then took my arm and pulled me down into the bed. I laid beside him, my head on his arm as he fell asleep again, how, I didn't know because Freddie's snores were like a fucking bullhorn. Somehow, though, I fell asleep, too.

* * *

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**Sorry this took a little longer, for some reason fanfiction wouldn't work on my laptop for like three days. But here's the next chapter!**

**Thank you to anyone who did a review, favourite or alert! **

**Until next time,**

**Laylax**


	29. Morning mishap, sonogram and mum

**Don't own anything except OC's.**

* * *

**Chapter 29. Morning mishap, sonogram and mum**

The next morning I awoke to something hitting me in the head. Groaning, I opened my eyes and glared at the culprit, until I realized it was Freddie Weasley and I almost screamed bloody murder.

He raised his eyebrows at me. "What are you doing in James' bed?"

My eyes flickered to James' sleeping form and back again. "Um, it's not what it looks like."

"And what does it look like?"

"You're such as arse, Fred," James grumbled tiredly. He sat up and rubbed his hands over his face. "She came to talk to me last night. She just fell asleep."

"Good, you never know what can happen these days."

"Like what? Get her pregnant?" James said sarcastically, pointing at my bump.

Derrick, who was walking into the bathroom, laughed and slapped Freddie on the back. "He has a point. Leave them be, Weasley."

"Go away, Wood," Freddie muttered, then realized where his friend was going. "Hey! Don't think you're going into the bathroom before me, loser."

They both ran into the bathroom, leaving James and I alone on the bed. I awkwardly stood up and smoothed down my bed top, noticing just how big my bump had become lately. It was like I had a Quaffle stuffed up my top.

"What you said last night," James said breaking the silence. "Did you mean it?"

"Yes," I replied in almost a whisper. "I talked to my dad last night… he changed my mind about the whole thing."

His face stretched into a brilliant smile that made me a little breathless. "Good. Thank Merlin, I was starting to think you weren't going to change your mind."

"I didn't think I would."

"I had a suspicion," he shrugged, also standing. "Or at least I really hoped you would change your mind."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I can't do this on my own."

"So why did you say you would?"

"Like I said, I really hoped you would change your mind."

I grinned at his giddy attitude. It felt good to joke around with him. "What would you have done if I hadn't changed my mind?"

"I think there would have been a lot of crying involved," James chuckled. "From me, not the baby."

"Well, it's a good job I changed my mind then isn't it?"

He nodded and then stared off into the distance. He was silent for a long moment, then stood showing his Gryffindor bed top and blue boxer shorts. I felt my face heat up at the fact that he had only been in his underwear and we had slept in the same bed. Talk about inappropriate.

"I'm going to get ready," I stated as Ethan started to wake in his bed. "I'll see you at breakfast?"

"Callie?" Louis mumbled from his bed. "What are you doing here?" he yawned widely.

"Attractive. I'll make sure Coco sees that one time."

"What?"

"Nothing. See you guys later."

I ran down the stairs but realized halfway down that people could be in the common room and come to…the wrong conclusion. I peeked around the corner and sighed in relief, there were only first and second years. They wouldn't connect the dots. I hopped along the common room, my feet cold from forgetting socks for bed last night, and up the stone stair case to the girl's dormitories.

"There she is!" Rose screamed the second I walked through the door.

I cringed at her loud tone as Coco, who was stood on my bed, put her hands on her hips.

"Where the _hell _have you been?" Coco yelled shrilly. "I thought you'd been kidnapped by aliens or something!"

"Aliens?"

"_Yes_!" she jumped from my bed and landed with a big 'thump'. "Or at least got lost in the dungeons. Where were you?"

"I—well, you see—"

"Don't you lie to us Calliope Rose Denison," Rose scolded.

I felt like a child again.

"I went to see James last night," I admitted. "The baby started kicking and I thought James might want to feel it. I was too tired to walk back so I just slept in his bed—"

"The baby kicked?" Coco questioned, flying forward to put her hands on my stomach. "When? Why? How long for? Was it weird? What did it feel like?"

"Last night, because that's what baby's do in your stomach…what was the next one?"

"Was it weird?"

"Really weird," I said, scrunching my eyebrows together as she put her hands on different places on my abdomen. "Coco, it's not kicking now."

"I'm coaxing it."

"It doesn't work like that," Rose interrupted. "They kick when they want to. He's probably still asleep now."

Coco took her hands away and sighed. "Okay, but tell me next time he kicks."

"Promise."

Coco and Rose were too absorbed in baby talk to care about me spending the night with James. In fact, they didn't seem to take that piece of information in at all. I begrudgingly put on the maternity jeans my dad bought me for Christmas and an oversized black top. I walked between Coco and Rose on the way to the Great Hall, although my news was old now and people were used to it, there was still the few that sent me disgusted looks and titters. I avoided them at all costs, I never saw Slytherin's anymore, but it was impossible to not see them once in a while. Plus, Natalia was on the loose and she scared me.

"Alright preggers," Scorpius greeted me brightly.

"Hey reptile."

"I'm named after a star conciliation, not an amphibian," Scorp groaned.

"Same thing."

"Not really."

"Still not as bad as Severus."

"Hey," Albus said, affronted. "I was named after one the bravest man my dad ever—you know what, it's not even worth it. There's nothing in the world that can make up for the name Severus."

"Especially when it's paired with Albus," Rose giggled. "You poor boy."

"I'm a man."

We all laughed at that one.

Albus huffed as he opened the paper and started to read. As I piled my plate with scrambled egg, the post came. A small red letter was dropped in front of me, the new _Witch Weekly_ that Coco ordered every week, and a picture of the sunset that I assumed was from Sage by the scribbling and mismatched colours. Curious, I picked up the red letter, threw the magazine at Coco, who squawked in surprise, and tucked the picture in my folder to go with the other pictures Sage had made me. I had a rainbow folder in my bottom draw dedicated to Sage related things.

_Dear, Miss. Denison._

_This is Healer Thane reminding you that you have an appointment for February 20__th__ at St. Mungo's. Please respond to let me know if you can still make the appointment. _

_Thank you, _

_Dana Thane._

"Hey," James plopped down beside me. I wordlessly handed him the letter, he read it and tucked it in his pocket.

"That's this Saturday, right?" he asked, putting bacon onto his plate.

"Yeah," I paused. "Two days before my birthday."

"Your birthday's next Monday? Shit, what do you want?"

"You don't need to get me anything."

"Course I do. Don't be awkward, tell me what you want."

"I don't want anything."

"Seriously Callie—"

"Nothing. That's what I want, nothing."

"What are you two arguing about now?" Dom asked tiredly.

I grumbled, "We don't argue that much."

People chose to ignore me. Rude, but also understandable.

"Dom, you'll help me choose a present for Callie's birthday won't you?"

Dom snorted. "Sure, when is it?"

"Next Monday," Albus answered. "Already got the present sorted."

"Twit. Give me some ideas."

I rolled my eyes at James as Coco spoke. "I forgot about our birthday," she laughed at herself. "How can you forget your own birthday?"

"Easily. People sang Happy Birthday last year and I didn't click on until an hour later that they had been singing it to me," Scorpius commented offhandedly as he spread butter on his toast.

I shook my head. What was I friends with?

"Hey mate," a velvety voice interrupted us. I looked up to see Blaise Zabini stood behind Scorpius. A few girls down the table looked up, blushed and giggled. I understood why, Zabini was extremely hot. He had the whole tall, dark and handsome thing, plus he held an aura of mystery that drove many girls wild. Even Rose flushed when he smiled at her and I coughed at the heat in my face. "We need to go and finish that Charms practical."

Scorpius bid us goodbye and disappeared. Dom let out a long breath and fanned her face, I snorted at her.

We spent the rest of the day lounging around the common room and catching up on homework. As I sat staring at the fireplace trying to get out of writing a DADA essay, my mind went too yesterday. I started to wonder where Edith had ended up. Had she went back to wherever she had been before? Was she still in Hogsmeade? Would she try to contact us again?

More importantly, did I want her to?

My eyes flickered to Coco as she did the worksheet for Transfiguration while making conversation with Carly. Did she want to see her? Did she care less about seeing her again, just like I did? I figured not, Coco was a lot more forgiving than me, plus she had always missed having a mum around. Coco was more girly than I ever had been, she loved mum teaching her how to do make-up and what perfume to use. I hated it, preferring to be in the background and jump on the bed while making up my own song about dragons and swords. Though Coco hated mum for what she did to us, she didn't hate mum. I, on the other hand, hated both. I was bitter and stubborn and maybe I should learn to be more forgiving but I didn't have the room or time anymore. If things went right, I would be raising a baby soon…I didn't have time to worry if Edith would fuck off into the wind again. Plus, really, I didn't want to.

I wanted to talk to Coco about it but I didn't get the time. For the next week we spent most of our time with other people and when we were alone one of us was always too tired to talk. Whenever I started the heart-to-heart I had in mind we would be interrupted, either by James suggesting ridiculous herbal remedies for me to take to make the baby healthier or Rose complaining that Scorpius was being an arse.

Before I knew it, it was time for my scan appointment. James and I had asked for the day out on Monday afternoon and were granted the access on Wednesday. We used the headmistress' floo network to get to the hospital and landed in the reception.

"We have an appointment with Healer Thane," James told the receptionist. As the young man looked through files, I saw someone from the corner of my eye pointing at us. Curious, I glared over and watched in horror as he whipped out a large camera. The flash made my eyesight go blurry for a few seconds and I vaguely heard someone shout 'That's James Potter!'.

"Shit," James muttered. He grabbed my hand and pulled. "Come on."

He rushed us down the hallway as people began to crane their necks to look and some got their cameras and phones out to take pictures. Healer Thane was coming down the hallway as we jogged down, she left the door open for us and we fell through. Healer Thane slammed the door shut and I could see flashes of cameras through the small window at the top of the doors.

I felt sick. Was that what my life was going to be like now? I didn't want fame, I didn't want to be in the papers and have articles written about me. Oh Merlin, what if there was a picture of me in the _Daily Prophet_ tomorrow? I balked and covered my mouth with both hands. I couldn't handle this.

"They can be fierce, huh?" Healer Thane smiled. "I always did this for you mum, James, when she was pregnant with all of you. Sometimes we had to open the hospital just for Ginny and Harry to have some peace. It was always hectic when they came."

James frowned at this. "Why are they even bothered?"

"Because the public are interested," Healer Thane answered, leading us to the room we were in last time. I sat on the bed-type chair in the room and took several deep breath to calm myself down. "Your dad saved the world, James, people are bound to be interested in what he does. It's how the world works, which is a pain for you I'm afraid."

"Actually I'm more concerned about Callie," James said. "She doesn't handle things like this well."

As proved by the hyperventilating I was doing.

"Want a drink, Callie?"

I nodded and gulped the cup down once she had handed it to me.

"Thanks," I set the cup on the side. "I'm sorry. These things freak me out a little bit."

"Its fine, honey. I understand," she didn't really, but I nodded anyway. "Now, let's check this baby shall we?"

She put the gooey stuff on my stomach again and rolled it around my stomach. The picture came on the screen again, only this time the peanut sized looked… well, like a baby, unbelievably. I could see the head, the curve of its chest, and the point of its tiny nose. It looked so _real._

I hyperventilating started again.

"Wow," James mumbled from beside me. Wow was right, however, I was too speechless to tell him this. Healer Thane talked through healthy eating and other things I should do to help the baby, weighed and checked out I was okay, booked another appointment, and then made copies of the scan and handed them to us, showing us a different way to get back to school. In the staff lounge was a fireplace connected to the floo network and we used that, both silent in awe as we travelled.

Our baby was growing. It was big enough for me to see its full silhouette, I wouldn't refer to it as a peanut anymore. No, it was a _baby_ now. Big enough to anyone, even me, point out on the sonogram. I started to feel the weight of keeping the baby on my shoulders, the sleepless nights, the pooping, the screaming, the crying, the moodiness. My heart pounded as we walked back to the common room.

"I'll sent one to my mum," James said, pointing to the large envelope in my hand that contained the scan photos. "You should send one to your dad."

"Yeah."

"Could I have one for my grandma? She was upset she didn't get one last time."

"Sure."

"And we need to keep one for ourselves."

"Yep."

"Can you only answer in one word?" he smirked.

"Yes."

"Okay then."

I headed for my dorm after giving James two scan photos. I needed to lie down for a while. When I got there Coco was sat on the end of my bed reading a letter. I made my presence known by coughing and walking heavy than I normally would, making her look up and smile.

"How was the scan?"

"Good. We got photos."

"Ooo, let me see!" she ripped the envelope from my hand and took out the last remaining big photo. There was also two small left. "Aw, that's so cute! I can tell it's a baby this time. Last time it just looked like you'd eaten a big peanut."

I snorted and took my coat off, settling it on the handing beside my bed. Coco glanced at the crumpled up letter near her and then back to me. Sighing, I sat on the bed to take off my shoes, which was becoming a lot more difficult since my stomach expanded.

"Who's the letter from?"

"What letter? Haha, I don't know a letter—"

"Coco."

"Okay, it's from mum," she caved at my warning tone. She sat back on her knees and looked at me with big blue eyes. My stomach sank. "She wants to meet up next Hogsmeade for lunch. She wants to talk. Do you want to go?"

"Do you?"

"Not if you don't."

"But you do want to go?"

She shrugged, but I could see the longing in her eyes. The longing for a mum or the longing for the answer to so many questions, I wasn't sure. Maybe it was both. My head was shouting at me to say no, to leave my mum the way she left us, to let her feel only an ounce of pain I felt when she left me the second time. But Coco looked so hopeful, almost desperate, and saying no to Coco was like kicking a puppy.

"Okay. Let's do it."

She beamed and nodded, running off to what I presumed would be the owlery. I kicked off my right boot and puffed out a breath, next Hogsmeade was going to be exciting, I could already tell.

* * *

**Thoughts?**

**Thank you for the reviews, favourites and alerts! I love you all!**

**-Laylax**


	30. Love, baby names and hate

**Don't own anything except OC's.**

* * *

**Chapter 30. Love, baby names and hate**

"I need to tell you guys something."

Coco and I looked up from our homework as Rose glared at the wall behind me. She had her arms crossed and a sour look on her face. I could feel a rant coming on.

"What?" Coco asked distractedly.

"I think I'm in love with Scorpius."

Coco made a strange gargling sound and the pen in my hand dropped to the floor.

"_What_?" I spat.

"Yeah, I know," Rose grumbled, taking a seat on the chair in front of me. She looked angry at herself. "I don't want to be, he's an arse. But I can't stop myself. I realized after Christmas, that's why I've been so awful to him lately."

"You've been like that with him since we were thirteen."

"Shut up," Rose snapped. "No I haven't."

I sent Coco a disbelieving look that she shook her head at.

"Then," Coco said slowly as if thinking what to respond with. I know I was speechless. "You should tell him."

Rose threw Coco a look that said she was the stupidest person to ever walk the earth. "Oh yeah," she said sarcastically. "_That'll_ go down well."

Coco looked to me for help and I shrugged. "I—don't know what to say," I sighed.

Rose combed her fingers through her hair. "Neither do I."

We fell into silence, Rose glared at the wall, Coco awkwardly fiddled with her quill and I smacked my lips. The silence was weird, peace was extremely rare when Coco, Rose and I were together.

"Maybe you should talk to him," I offered quietly, afraid Rose would bite my head off. "Just see if he feels the same…or if he doesn't."

"Mmm, maybe." Rose flopped her head so she was staring at the ceiling. "Yeah, I should talk to him. It's better than feeling like this all the time."

She got up and marched out the common room. Coco and I looked at each other and then raced off to follow her, me slightly slower because of the bump. We caught up with her near the Great Hall and searched the large room before storming off around the corner. When we finally turned the corner Rose was frozen in the middle of the hallway.

"Rose, what's—"

"Oh, fuck."

In front of me, locked in a tight passionate embrace, was Scorpius and a brunette I recognized from Ravenclaw. Rose was breathing loudly and heavily beside me. Slightly scared, I took several steps back and dragged Coco with me. She was about to blow and I wasn't going to be in the firing line.

"SCORPIUS MALFOY!"

There it is.

My blonde friend detached himself from the Ravenclaw with a sound that resembled taking a plug out the bath. I flinched as Scorpius investigated the loud noise, his face a cross between frightened and curious. When he seen Rose he gently pushed the girl away and his eyes widened.

"Hey, Rose, what's up—"

"Don't give me that, Malfoy," Rose snipped hatefully. I took another step back. "You told me you were going to study!"

"I was—"

"Oh really? What are you studying, her mouth?"

"Rose, come on—"

"You know I hate lying!" she screamed, stamping her foot. "You stupid, stupid little shit—"

"Why do you even care? I'm allowed to snog people Rose, I'm single and—"

"If you say ready to mingle I'm going to hex you."

Scorpius snapped his mouth shut.

Good choice.

"And for you information, _Malfoy_," she spat. "I _don't _care. I just don't like being lied to. Plus I'm sorry if I want to be able to walk down the hallways _without seeing you and some slut having sex against the wall_!"

"We were _kissing_, not shagging, Weasley. Not my fault you can't get anyone to snog you."

Coco cringed and made a noise in the back of her throat. I took a step back again and got ready for hexes and curse words. However, they never came. Rose stepped forward and punched Scorpius in the face so hard the '_crack_' echoed across the castle.

"Ow!" I spluttered unintentionally.

Scorpius fell to his knees holding his nose and Rose raged off down the hallway. The Ravenclaw that Scorpius had been messing around with leaned forward to help him as Coco and I rushed forward.

"Scorp, are you okay?" Coco asked.

He sent her a disgruntled look as blood ran down his arm.

"Stupid question," I muttered, picking him up by the arm and helping him to his feet. "I'll take him to the infirmary, Coco go and find Rose."

She nodded and flew off while I walked with Scorpius to see Madam Pomfrey. She sat him on the bed and muttered a spell to fix his nose and then another to wash the blood of his face. Scorpius groaned and gently touched his newly fixed nose.

"Bloody hell, she might be annoying, but she has a good right hook," he grumbled.

I chuckled. "Is it okay?"

"Sore, but it'll be fine," he sighed. "Why did she even hit me?"

I sent him a look.

"Okay, yeah I know why. Breaking my nose was out of order though. She could have just hexed me."

"I think this is less painful, actually. Rose's hexes really hurt."

"Both hurt like a bitch. Should I go and apologize?"

"I think so."

"Yeah, alright."

We searched the castle for a while until we decided to go to the Gryffindor common room. Rose and Coco were sat on the windowsill when we walked in and the both looked up. Rose glowered and Coco waved.

"Hey Rose," Scorpius said quietly. "I'm sorry about what I said, okay? I didn't mean it."

She tittered and turned to the window. "Alright."

Scorpius frowned. "Aren't you going to apologize to me?"

Rose whipped around and ground her teeth together. "Why should I?"

"You broke my nose!"

"You called me ugly!"

"No I didn't!"

"You implied it!

"No I didn't," Scorpius snapped. "It was the heat of the moment."

"People say that the truth comes out in the heat of the moment, Malfoy."

"Guys, can't we just—"

"SHUT UP, CALLIE!"

I held my hands up in defence. Damn, these two really needed to get some anger management.

"Don't talk to me again," Rose shouted.

"Gladly."

They thundered off in different directions. As Scorpius stomped out the portrait hole, Albus and James came through the other way.

"What's up with him?" Albus questioned.

"He and Rose got into a fight," I replied, flopping onto the chair. Chasing after friends really takes it out of you.

"Again. What's up with them lately?"

"Don't know," I shrugged. "_I_ should be the one being hormonal."

James bounded over to the couch and sat on the seat nearest to me. "About that, I was thinking about baby names while the team played shit."

"We played good, you arsehole," Albus snapped.

James ignored him. "What about Wolfrick?"

"Are you being serious?" I asked flatly.

"Yes! It's one of Dumbledore's names. I think it's cool."

"I think our child will be bullied."

"No one would bully a Potter."

"You're an idiot," I deadpanned. "Plus, what if it's not a Potter?"

"What do you mean?"

"I want my name in there too," I said as he frowned. "What about Potter-Denison?"

"What about Denison-Potter?"

"Before this turns into an argument," Coco interrupted. "Do you think we should go after Rose? She might want to talk."

"Leave her for a bit," Albus waved. "She'll blow a few things up, punch a few walls, shout a few things and then you can go and talk to her. If you go after her now she'll do all those things to you."

Coco squeaked and sat on the couch, her eyes wide.

"What about the middle name Denison?"

"How about we talk about this later," I moaned. "I'm too tired to talk about this now."

"Callie?!"

Fuck my life.

"What?"

"Dad says your mum's back," Bruce appeared and sat on the coffee table. "What does that mean?"

"What do you mean what does it mean?" I replied, then realized how confusing what I said was.

Bruce seemed to know what I meant. "Is she going to be around now?"

I licked my lips and sat forward. "I don't think so, kid. Why?"

"Wondering," he replied, shrugging. "I'm a curious person…and I don't like her."

"Have you met her before?"

"No, but she left you and Co, that makes her a bitch."

"Don't swear," Coco called out.

I snorted. "That's sweet...I think. But you don't have much to worry about, Bruce."

"Okay, cool," he nodded, then his eyes moved to James. "Hey Potter, decided to come back did you? Have a nice holiday?"

"Bruce." I muttered.

"What?" he asked innocently. "I was just being polite."

"You're full of crap," I said. "Don't you have teachers to torture or something?"

"Yeah, I suppose," he stood, dusting off his top. "Smell you later!"

James turned to me and smirked. "So that was your brother?"

"Yeah," I flopped against the chair and closed my eyes. "Pain in my arse, but he's my brother, so..."

James sent a look towards Albus. "Yeah, I know the feeling."

"Piss off, James."

I laughed as they began to bicker.

We sat around the fire for hours, only moving when the sky started to darken. Coco and I went to the dorm to get ready for bed, no one was in the room when we got there so I placed my work on my bed and sat down.

"So what did you say in the letter?"

Coco put her pens in her draw and slammed it shut. "I said that we'll meet her in the Three Broomsticks next Hogsmeade trip and I'd write to her what the date is when it's announced."

"Mmmm. Do you think she'll come?"

Coco paused in putting her books away. "Why wouldn't she?" she whispered, opening the draw slowly.

"I don't know," I said, sighing. "I just don't want you to get your hopes up and then her not turn up. She doesn't exactly have the best track record, Coco."

She was silent for a while, clearing her bed of essays and pens. She started to get her shower things ready when she spoke again, "This is her last chance. If she doesn't turn up for this, I'm never speaking to her again."

"Okay."

She scooped her things into her arms and walked to the bathroom, closing the door softly behind her. I heard the shower on seconds later. I stared at the door, wondering whether I should talk more about it but figured it was enough for the night. Just as I had climbed into my bed to read a book for History of Magic, the door opened and Rose walked through, her eyes red and hair a mess.

"Rose, are you alright?" I asked as she moved to her bed.

"Yes, why wouldn't I be?"

"I thought you may be upset about Scorpius—"

"He's not worth getting upset over anymore," she snapped, forcefully undoing her jeans. "I'm going to get over him, Callie. I don't care what it takes I'm not going to wallow over Scorpius Malfoy anymore. I'm done."

With that, she pulled the curtains around her bed and cast the silence charm. Feeling dejected, I copied her, pulling my curtains around my bed and casting the charm. I didn't want to talk to anyone tonight, especially Linda or Megan who would want to know every little detail of my day to see if there was any gossip to spread. I carried on reading the book, worried for Coco and Rose. I felt helpless because I didn't know how to help them, like I wasn't a good friend or sister.

Sighing, I turned off my bedside light and closed my eyes. Maybe things would be better tomorrow.

* * *

**Thoughts?**

**Thanks for the reviews, favourites and alerts! Hope you all enjoyed this chapter, see you next time!**

**-Laylax**


	31. Birthday's, Edith and friends

**Don't own anything except OC's.**

* * *

**Chapter 31. ****Birthday's, Edith and friends.**

"Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Callie and Coco, happy birthday to you!"

"Go away, Weasley."

Rose ripped my curtains back and beamed. "You're seventeen! How do you feel?"

"Tired."

"Tough. Get up!"

She repeatedly hit my leg until I sat up and then went to bother Coco, jumping around her bed until Coco groaned and awoke with a loud yawn. The morning after the whole Scorpius fiasco Rose was back to her normal self. I was concerned. It was a mask, I knew that, I was familiar with putting up a façade for other people. But I also knew that masks couldn't be held for long before it breaks and hurts you. I wanted to bring it up, to help her, however, whenever Scorpius was mentioned she either tactilely changed the conversation or walked away.

They hadn't spoken a word to each other. Whenever they were in the same room they pretended the other didn't exist. Albus was having a particularly hard time, Scorpius was his best friend but Rose was his cousin. He had no idea who to stick up for or to hang out with so he acted like there was nothing wrong, skilfully filling awkward silences and looking past the evil looks the pair gave each other. Coco and I did the same, too afraid of their wrath to bring anything up.

"Rose, I swear to Merlin," Coco muttered as Rose started to jump around her like an excited puppy. Coco sighed and dug through her draws for two presents wrapped in a happy birthday paper and a red bow. "Happy Birthday, Callie," she smiled lazily.

I took the presents and stood to hug her. "My presents are under the bed," I said. "I'd get them but the bumps becoming a big problem."

Coco laughed as she kneeled on the floor and picked up the pink presents. "No problem."

We opened them on the bed as Rose rushed over to her trunk to get her presents. Coco got me a blue dress and coral cardigan, and a pair of boots I wanted from the muggle catalogue at home. I had gotten Coco a heart necklace with a picture of us when we were kids, a jumper, and a teddy-bear she said was cute from a local shop. Rose got us each a scarf, me a pair of earrings and Coco some nail varnish and a vintage floral skirt.

Once we were all ready we went to the common room which was filled with my friends and family. I hugged various people and then sat on the couch with Coco, accepting cards and gifts people gave me. My gifts included money, perfume, pranks from the WWW (I assumed Freddie), and sweets. Coco got similar things, grinning happily as she ripped the paper away and threw them into the black bag Scorpius was holding.

James sat on the coffee table in front of us and dug threw his pockets. "Happy Birthday," he said, handing us a present each.

Coco opened her box to reveal a pair of pink and silver earrings. She beamed, taking out her simple diamond ones from her second hole and putting the news ones in to sit with the ones I had bought her for Christmas. I flicked open my box, a chain charm bracelet with a two hearts at the end sat in the middle. It was simple but beautiful, how I liked my jewellery. Urged by the nice gesture and the fact that he had taken the care on not only my present but my sisters too, I leaned over and gave James a quick hug. He looked shocked for a moment and I chose to ignore it, fastening the bracelet to my wrist and complimenting Coco's earrings.

We went down to breakfast together after that. I smiled and thanked people who wished me a happy birthday and tried to overlook the glares and sneers some people sent me for just turning seventeen and being five months pregnant. They were just jealous I had an excuse to eat like a pig and not be ashamed about it.

Or at least that's what I told myself when a girl pointed and scoffed at me.

The post came a while later, delivering cards filled with money from family members and a long card from my dad that had the birthday song wrote in, a paragraph about how he can remember when we were children, and that he was proud of us. I blinked back tears as I passed it to Coco and moved onto the next card that was in a yellow envelope.

_Dear, Calliope and Cordelia._

_Happy 17__th__ Birthday!_

_I hope you both have a great day and get everything you wanted. _

_Love,_

_Edith (your mum) x_

Grinding my teeth together, I handed the card to Coco and took my dad's back. Rereading his made my anger diminish enough for me to carry on opening the cards, laughing at Josh's card that wrote about how he's sorry he put a hole in my wall and that he isn't going to kill James, maybe just hurt him severely, and smiling at my Nana's card that held a verse about granddaughters.

Sadly, I had to go to lessons after reading all my cards. I filled my day by messing around with Albus and making jokes with Scorpius while Rose screamed for me to shut up (she refused to acknowledge Scorpius existed) and Coco singing happy birthday to herself over and over again. After lessons I went to change into something more comfortable and joined everyone down by the lake. As Freddie and Dylan started a wrestling match behind a yelling Carly, James got up from his place beside Roxanne and sat with me.

"I got you something else," he admitted quietly. "I didn't know if you'd want people to see so here," he handed me a small parcel.

I checked to see what everyone was doing, no one was looking at us but were too engrossing in conversations or fighting to look over. I took the softly picked the bow off and lifted the paper. Inside was a tiny red baby grower with a smiling yellow lion and giraffe on. My eyes widened and I sucked in a breath.

"I saw it in Hogsmeade when I snuck in last week," he muttered. "I couldn't resist…what do you think?"

I swallowed and tried to hydrate my dry mouth. "I—I think it's small," I replied.

"It's new-born, of course it's small."

I fingered the soft cotton fabric. "It is rather cute…" I admitted. "Thanks."

I wrapped the parcel again and put it into Coco's bag. She sent me a curious look but was too involved with Louis' talking to really care. James grinned widely and looked back to his friends and family, laughing as Lily flicked Albus repeatedly in the ear for something he said to her. We headed back when the sky began to darken and sat in the common room instead. Freddie ran up to his dorm room and came down with two bottles of fire whiskey and an eight-pack butterbeer. Sighing as everyone grabbed a class of bottle, I leaned back in the chair and rubbed my bump. I was finally legal to drink and I couldn't because I got drunk underage, the irony was almost funny.

We stayed up until late hours and then I retired to bed with Coco. As we were about to walk the stairs she stopped and stared at the board.

"Hogsmeade is next weekend," she stated. "We need to tell mu—Edith."

"Send her a letter tomorrow."

She nodded, her eyebrows knitted together as she started to jog up the stairs again. Linda and Megan were in the bathroom and Rose had stayed downstairs to glare at Scorpius a little more before she went to sleep. Coco picked out her pyjamas and laid them on the bed.

"Have you told dad we're meeting Edith?" I asked quietly, getting out my pyjamas.

"No… I thought it was rude to tell him over a letter."

"Tell him to meet us in Hogsmeade, after Edith. We can tell him then."

"Yeah, good idea."

I climbed into bed and turned to stare at the wall, the reality of seeing my mum again setting in. I fell asleep as Rose came to the dorm and stumbled into bed, muttering something about stupid Slytherin blondes.

The days flew over in a blur of homework, lessons, pregnancy and socializing. Edith sent a letter back on Wednesday saying that she would be happy to meet up there (_scoff_), and my dad replied on Thursday promising he would be in Honeydukes for three. Before I knew it I was waking up on the Saturday I was meeting up with Edith again. I reluctantly awoke to my alarm and glared at it. I hated alarms on a good, none-mum day, never mind today. I swore repeatedly under my breath as I walked into the bathroom to shower. When I came out dry and ready in jeans and a loose top that no matter how much I tried could not hide my bump, Coco was pulling on her boots. I waited for her and Rose and we walked to the Great Hall together.

"So you're meeting up with _Edith_ and then your dad," James recited, making sure he emphasised on Edith after I had shouted at him for calling her my mum last week.

"Yeah. It's going to be fun."

"Don't sound so enthusiastic."

I rolled my eyes at him and ate my breakfast. I slowly walked with Coco to the Three Broomsticks. Edith was waiting for us at eleven and it was then to now. I wanted to run away, then I looked at Coco and saw how excited she looked and shook my head. Time to be less selfish.

Edith walked in as Coco came back with a butterbeer and an orange and water for me. Her strawberry blonde hair was tied in a messy bun and was dressed smart, too smart for a meeting in the Three Broomsticks. I bit my tongue as she stopped us and came over with a small smile.

"Hello girls," she greeted. She sat opposite us in the booth and put her scarf beside her.

"Hey," Coco replied brightly.

"Hi."

Edith glanced at me and then back to Coco. "How are you?"

I refrained from scoffing as Coco answered her with a wide smile. I sat silently as they chatted away. I had nothing to say and her voice grated on me. I thought about seeing my dad, worried he would react badly to us meeting with Edith. I didn't want him to be hurt. It was the last thing I wanted. It was even worse the fact that he may be hurt by something that I didn't even want to do in the first place.

Coco disappeared suddenly to go to the toilet, leaving Edith and I in awkward silence. I didn't try to fill it and neither did she until a couple of minutes later.

"How's the baby Calliope?" she questioned lightly, as if afraid I would rip her to shreds.

"Its fine," I replied tensely, my fingers dancing along my bump under the table.

She nodded. "That's good. Do you know the sex yet?"

"Nope."

"How far along are you?"

"Five months."

"Have you thought of names?"

"No."

She sighed and leaned forward. "I know you don't want to be here Callie, so thank you for coming."

"You don't have to thank me," I snapped. "I'm not doing it for you. I'm doing it for Coco."

"I know."

I paused, wondering if I should carry on because I didn't want to be rude…then decided I didn't care. She deserved my rudeness and she had done nothing to earn my respect. "I wouldn't be here if Coco didn't want me to be. I don't want to give you a second chance."

"I know."

"Is that all you can say?" I spat, then took a deep breath. I turned my body to look her in the eyes. They were a light blue, the same as Coco and I. "She's already said if you leave again she won't give you another chance. This is your last opportunity to be in her—in our lives."

"I understand that."

"Please don't hurt my sister, Edith."

She nodded twice. "I won't, I promise."

Coco came back and flew into her seat, bringing up our birthday and what presents she got. I leaned back into the booth again and watched Edith. Maybe she would stay around and never leave again, but I realized in the moment she would never be my mum. And maybe I was okay with that. I had spent so long begging, praying for to come back and now she was I couldn't trust her. I couldn't force myself to forgive and love her again. I had to start accepting that.

Coco walked Edith to the floo network and I went off to Honeydukes, bidding Edith goodbye over my shoulder. My dad was looking at a pot of sweet with interest when I walked in. Memories of him taking us sweet shopping and buying is ice-creams on days out flooded my mind, followed by him reading me stories at night and hugging me when I cried. I walked over to him and hugged his side, he jumped in shock and then hugged me back.

I was okay with no mum. My dad was enough.

"Hey honey, want some sweets?"

"No thanks. I'm eating healthy," I grumbled.

"And I can tell you're thrilled about that."

The bell above the door rang and Coco bounded into the shop and hugged our dad. He bought her some liquorice wands and a chocolate frog before we went to find a seat, sitting on a beach near the Post Office. Coco took a huge bite from one of her liquorice wands and uncomfortably looked at the ground. I smacked my lips and crossed my legs.

"What aren't you girls telling me?"

"What do you mean?" we asked together, a weird twin moment I didn't want to repeat.

"You're always fiddly when you lie to me," he said. "I noticed when you were five. You've always done it, so tell me."

"Well…"

Dad raised his eyebrows at Coco's high voice. He looked at me and I quickly took interest in a nearby rose bush.

"Well, you see, daddy," Coco started angelically. "Mum—Edith sent us a letter asking to meet up after you left… I wanted to so Callie said yes and we just met her in the Three Broomsticks and I'm sorry if it hurts you and I promise we won't do it again if you don't want us to and—"

"Coco, breath," dad demanded.

She breathed deeply. "Right, sorry."

"I'm not mad or upset," he said. I felt a weight lift from my shoulders. "It's your decision if you want to see her… just make sure she doesn't hurt you again."

We nodded and hugged him. We walked around the village for a while until dad had to go back to his job. After saying goodbye, Coco and I went to the WWW, were everyone else had gone for the day. The WWW was joined up with Zonko's so the old joke shop didn't go out of business or get forgotten about. Were Zonko's had the classics, the WWW had the new, more inventive stuff. I loved the shop, it was my favourite place to go when I was a kid. I always begged my dad to take me there when we went to Diagon Alley. Being a WWW worker had been my dream until I was thirteen… then again it was every kid's dream.

"Love potions, eh?" I said as I found James near the tub holding them. "Who've you got your eye on?"

It was meant to come out as a joke but it came out forceful, almost tense.

He didn't notice. "No one," he laughed, setting the red bottle down. "Uncle George told me they've made an extra powerful one. I was coming to check it out."

I dipped my head into the tub and looked at the new red bottle with 'Love Potion' written across in scrolling pink letters. "They smell good," I sniffed the caramel aroma.

"They've added things to make the smell more attractive. It gets people more likely to fall for it."

"Smart."

"How was the meeting with Edith?"

"Alright," I shrugged. "I didn't talk to her much. She and Coco chatted for ages and I sat and sulked."

"Sounds about right. Did you get any answers?"

"No. I'll probably never get them," I answered, picking up a Weasley joke box to inspect. "She doesn't do explanations. I might get them later if I annoy her enough for them."

"You're good at annoying people."

"Thanks," I said sarcastically. He chuckled and led me to the desk were people were lined up to buy products. As I was about to turn around and find Rose, a man with ginger hair and one ear walked out the stock room door. When he seen James he grinned and reached out to get him in a headlock.

"Callie, this is my Uncle George," James introduced.

"So you're the girl James knocked up," he shook my head. "You poor thing."

"Offensive."

George grinned. "You know if he gives you any trouble I can give you some free products that will give him some fabulous boils…"

"Thanks. I'll keep that in mind," I said, mildly truthful.

"She sounds like she means that, mate," George smirked to James. "I'd be careful and sleep with one eye open."

"I already do. I live with your son. Who knows what can happen with him around. I woke up with no eyebrows before and he still refuses to this day to tell me how he blew them off."

"Oh, Freddie boy. He makes me proud."

We chatted for a while longer and then went back to the castle to do some homework. As we walked the wind picked up and I shivered. James took off his jacket and threw it around my shoulders.

"Thanks."

"It's what friends do."

I looked at him. Were we friends? I didn't hate him anymore and even though he irritated me to no end, I still found myself laughing and joking with him.

"Yeah, I suppose they do."

He smiled and continued down the path.

"How about Cenwig for the baby?"

"Way to ruin the moment James."

"Thanks, it's a skill."

* * *

**Thoughts?**

**I'm ****_so _****sorry for the late update but I've had so much going on lately. Exams at school are killing me and I've got family moving back home after living in Devon for six years...anyway, it's hectic. I managed to squeeze this chapter in between revising, hope you enjoy it! It's a bit of a filler, but it's something, right?**

**Thanks for the reviews, favourites and alerts, I love you guys!**

**-Laylax**


	32. Quidditch, talks and sneaking sisters

**Don't own anything except OC's.**

* * *

**Chapter 32. Quidditch, talks and sneaking sisters**

"I can't believe you dragged me out here."

James turned his head to make sure I saw him rolling his eyes. "You said you were bored."

"That doesn't mean I want to watch your Quidditch training," I replied snappishly as the team warmed up. Louis and Lily were racing each other and Cooper kept poking Freddie up the arse with her broom as they ran around the field. "And how come you don't warm up?"

"Because I'm the captain. I don't need to warm up."

"In other words, you're lazy."

"Says the girl that didn't move from the couch yesterday for six hours. I don't even know how someone can sit that long."

"Easy. I had three boxes of chocolates from my birthday and homework."

"I was seriously starting to worry. Fresh air might help your hermit ways anyway."

"Shut up, James."

Since the Hogsmeade trip James and I had been hanging out a lot more than before. Maybe it was because we realized we had turned into friends, or maybe it was just coincidence. Either way, we were hardly apart anymore except for lessons and Quiddtch training. We still argued like cat and dog and called each other every name under the sun, but hey, it was better than avoiding each other. I knew James and I would never stop our petty arguments, it was the base of our complicated relationship.

James ordered the team to do drills in the air and then sat next to me again. "I need to train, do you mind?"

"No. I'll go and find Coco."

He nodded and I patted his arm as I walked away. We weren't onto hugging goodbye yet. I roamed the castle for a while, enjoying the views and the smells when I was suddenly in a deserted hallway. It wasn't deserted for long as someone walked around the corner. I froze when I saw who it was. We stared at each other and I contemplated hexing her and running until she spoke.

"Hey Denison," Natalia muttered bitterly.

"McLaggen."

"You lied to me."

"I had to."

She closed her eyes and looked away. "Whatever," she started to storm away.

"You know it's your fault he dumped you," I called after her. She stopped in her tracks and turned, her eyes blazing. "He overheard you telling your friends about the benefits of shagging a Potter. He liked you a lot until he heard that."

She paled. "He heard that?"

"Yeah."

"I didn't mean it like that," she said. "I mean, yeah, dating him had extra privileges, but I really did care for him."

"I'm sure you did."

She paused and stared at me. "You do know if you weren't pregnant I would have punched you by now, right?"

"Yeah, I know."

"Good. I didn't want you thinking I've gone soft. After all, it's not the baby's fault its mum's a slut."

"Pot calling the kettle black, don't you think?"

She opened her mouth to respond but decided it wasn't worth it and carried on walking. Shaking, I walked in the opposite direction taking deep breaths as I went. I was sure she was going to hit me or verbally attack me. Getting away unscathed was almost as shocking as Natalia caring for someone.

By the time I had gotten over my surprise it was time for tea. I joined the others at the end of the Gryffindor table and piled my plate with food.

"Where have you been?" Coco asked.

"Walking around the castle. I wanted some fresh air."

"Oh, okay," she nodded, satisfied. She turned back to Dom and Carly and smiled. "I definitely think you should go and talk to him."

"Yeah, he's cute," Dom added.

"I don't know guys," Carly replied hesitantly.

"Tony Boot asked her to sit with him earlier," Rose informed me after seeing my confused expression.

The Quidditch team came running into the Great Hall and practically threw themselves at the food. Dom threw her twin a disgusted look as he stuffed food in his mouth and then turned back to Carly.

"What's the harm? You never know, it could even be fun," she told her.

"I suppose," Carly admitted, her eyes flickering to Freddie. "Yeah, maybe I should ask him out."

Freddie stopped putting food down his throat. "Whoa. Who are you asking out?"

"Tony Boot," Coco answered.

Freddie scoffed. "Oh please."

"What? He's nice."

"He's an arse."

"You think everyone's an arse, Freddie," Carly said softly.

He looked at her for a second and then shrugged. "I just don't think he's good enough for you."

Carly smiled and took a sip of her pumpkin juice.

Dom smirked at me when I caught her eyes and I shook my head. Scorpius sat down next to Albus, Rose tittered and marched off. He threw her a hurt and angry look and turned to Albus. I watched as my friend was stopped by Tim Davies at the end of the table and they started to laugh and babble. My eyes moved to Scorpius as James replaced Rose's seat next to me.

"I got you some strawberries from down there," he put them in a bowl beside my plate. I had craved them last week and made him go and get them, demanding he go down to the kitchens because he was the idiot that impregnated me. It had worked and I had gotten four bowls of strawberries from him.

"Thanks," I whispered as Scorpius looked up from Albus. His eyebrows clamped together when he looked at Davies and Rose. I glanced over just in time to see Rose throw her head back in laughter. Scorpius muttered something I couldn't make out and flew out of the Great Hall. Rose didn't even notice.

"Fucking hell, I really need them two to sort things out," Albus muttered, running his hands through his hair.

"Don't we all?" I patted his hand.

"I'm sick of him whining about her and her whining about him. Why don't they just kiss and make up?"

I laughed at the irony of his request. Albus didn't know about Rose's secret crush and he and he was too oblivious to notice Scorpius liked his cousin, too.

"I don't know, Al."

I picked a strawberry from the bowl when Albus was distracted by Lily. James took a bite of his steak and I leaned on the table.

"I ran into Natalia," I admitted, taking another bite of my strawberry.

He coughed. "What? When?"

"Today while I was walking around the castle."

"Did she do anything? Did she _say_ anything?"

"She didn't hurt me or anything. She basically said he didn't mean to hurt you and that if I wasn't pregnant I would be six feet under… oh, and I'm a slut."

"Really?"

"Mmhmm." I finished the strawberry and put the green leaves on my empty plate. "I told her it was the pot calling the kettle black."

He snorted. "Fair enough," he took another bite of his steak.

Honestly, being called a slut really hurt. It made me think about all the other people that thought I was a gold digging bitch that slept around. Is that what everyone thought of me? And if they didn't, how many people did?

"You're not a slut," James murmured almost to himself. "I mean you get pregnant on your first time, that's just rotten luck."

I halted halfway into putting another strawberry in my mouth and turned to him with wide eyes. He realized what he had said and uncomfortably rubbed the back of his neck and avoided looking at me.

"What?" I mumbled.

"I'm sorry," he quickly said. "I asked Albus at your birthday in the common room when he was drunk… I'd wondered for a while. He told me. Don't blame him though, he'd had five firewhiskey's."

I peeked at my raven haired best friend and scowled at him. The little traitor. I shouldn't have left him alone with people while he was drunk, he always told the truth when he was drunk. It was his drunk thing.

"I can't believe you know that," I whispered into my hands.

"It wasn't that hard to figure out if I'm honest. I already knew Bones was your only real boyfriend and no woman in her right mind would sleep with him."

My lips twitched. "True."

"The fact Vane slept with him proves that."

I laughed at that one.

"It's not a massive deal," James promised with a chuckle. "Well, not to me anyways. I understand if it is for you."

I twisted the strawberry and then popped into my mouth. "It was at first," I confessed. "Now I know you more…I don't know, it doesn't make me feel as bad when I think about it."

"You think about it?"

"Not like that, perv," I rolled my eyes.

"How much? Am I in your dreams?"

I hit his arm and he roared in laughter. "Piss off, James."

"Alright I'm done," he said. "Is it good when you think about it?"

I slapped him across the head and he snorted.

I finished my strawberries and then went with the others back to the common room, dragging Rose with me. She shouted bye to Davies over her shoulder and Albus blocked them, sending her a disappointed look. She flipped him the bird.

Later that night after finishing my Potions essay I laid in my bed thinking about food. I was really hungry. My stomach kept rumbling and it was becoming painful. Turning on my side, I puffed out a breath and rubbed my bump. The baby must be hungry too. As if confirming my thoughts, my stomach gave an almighty rumble.

"I swear to Merlin, Callie, if you don't shut up your tummy I'm going to cry," Coco muttered from her bed. From the light of the moon I could see her pop one eye open.

"I'm hungry," I whispered.

"So eat something."

"I've got nothing to eat."

She groaned. "Neither have I. I ate all my birthday chocolates yesterday."

I paused. "Come to the kitchens with me."

"What? No."

"Please. You niece or nephew is starving here."

She glared at me. "Really? You're playing the baby card?"

"Yes. Is it working?"

"Yes," she moaned, throwing off her covers. She slipped on her booties and I pulled on my dressing down and slippers. As we began to head for the door, Rose moved in her bed and rolled out the covers.

"I'm coming too," she said tiredly. "I didn't get to eat anything at dinner before Malfoy turned up."

She joined us in our search for food. The common room was empty, even the fire was off to rest. The castle was weird and rather creepy at night, there was no noise except the sleeping portraits and there were no ghosts roaming around to walk through you or scare first years. Even Peeves had retired for sleep. We snuck to the kitchens and dug through the draws for food. I managed to create a ham and cheese sandwich, Rose got a piece of chocolate cake and Coco made herself a hot chocolate and got some biscuits. We whispered as we ate, afraid Flinch was walking around somewhere and would hear us. Once we were done Rose flicked her wand to wash our dishes and we made our way back to the common room. As we turned the corner of a small hallway, I heard footsteps.

"Did you hear that?" I whispered.

"Hear what?"

"The footsteps," I replied to Coco. She stepped forward and grabbed my arm.

"No. I think you're hearing things, Cal."

They were heard again, this time louder. Rose squeaked and we dived behind the corner to look out for anyone. My heart went into overdrive at the thought of Flinch catching us. I didn't want detention. The people in there were the ones that still laughed and pointed when I passed them in the hallways. When I thought I was about to faint, a flash of red appeared in the hallway. It took me several seconds to realize it was Lily Potter.

"What is she doing here?" Rose mumbled.

"Don't know," I answered quietly.

Lily glanced around the hallway and we ducked around the corner more. She opened the door to a classroom and walked in. Rose, Coco and I peeped at each other and then snuck to the door to see what she was doing. I pushed the heavy door slightly until there was enough room for us to see into the classroom. Lily was sat on a table looking through the desk idly.

"Lily?" a deep voice called out from the other entrance at the side of the classroom. Rose gasped, Coco hit her leg.

Lily's face split into a wide, happy smile. "Hey, nice pick," she motioned to the classroom.

"Thanks," the guy was still hid by the shadows. "You look beautiful."

Lily giggled. I'd never heard her giggle before. "Thanks."

Lily jumped off the table and glided over to meet the guy just as he came from the shadows. My mouth fell open as I noticed who the person was, who Lily was now snogging.

Blaise Zabini and Lily Potter.

Well, didn't see that coming.

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**-Laylax**


	33. Zabini and Lily, kissing and feelings

**Don't own anything except OC's.**

* * *

**Chapter 33. Zabini and Lily, kissing and feelings**

I knew it would come before she had even opened her mouth. I covered Rose's mouth just in time and dragged her away until we were in the common room. We were safe to talk there, by the looks of things Lily would be busy for a while.

"Oh my Merlin!" Rose yelled loudly.

I shushed her. "Don't shout, idiot, you'll wake everyone up."

"Sorry," she breathed. "But holy shit! I can't believe she—he—_them_."

"Me neither," Coco spluttered.

"Well, I just nearly gave birth in shock, beat that."

Coco looked at my stomach with wide eyes and Rose was still reeling from what she had seen. I leaned against the back of the Gryffindor couch and sighed. I could already imagine the carnage when people found out about Zabini and Lily. Her family wouldn't be happy, his wouldn't, their friends wouldn't, their houses wouldn't. They had pretty much everything against them.

I rubbed my temples with my fingers. "How the hell would they even get together?" I questioned.

"Don't know," Coco replied. "I've never seen them talk before, have you?"

"No. I thought they hated each other actually, I mean they're on opposing Quidditch teams."

"James is going to murder them," Coco thought for a moment. "Murder him," she corrected.

"I can't believe she didn't tell me," Rose mumbled to herself. "Why wouldn't she tell me?"

"Maybe because you'd blab to Albus or Hugo."

"Would not!"

I sent her a look.

"Okay, but I wouldn't do it on purpose."

I sniggered and then yawned.

"We should go to bed," Coco said. "It's late and Lily could come back soon."

We agreed and stumbled back to bed. I fell asleep instantly and what felt like seconds later was awoke by my alarm. I rubbed my eyes and wondered if everything I had experience last night was a dream.

Coco sat up in bed and groaned. "I'm so tired."

Rose popped up and grabbed hold of her bed posts. "Zabini and Lily! _Zabini and Lily_!"

I frowned and rubbed my eyes again. "That was real?"

"Yes!" Rose shouted, rushing over to my bed. Linda and Megan were already in the bathroom. They got up early to put their make-up and all the other shit they wore. "They were _snogging_. My little cousin was snogging Blaise Zabini…that's just wrong."

"Why? I'd snog him," Coco muttered, her eyes closed and hugging a pillow. "He's gorgeous."

I yawned widely and leaned my head on my hands. "I think he's quite nice, too. Scorpius hangs out with him a lot."

Of course, I'd forgot who I was talking to.

"You can't trust Malfoy's opinion," Rose snipped. "We'll have to talk to Lily."

"_We_?"

"Yes, we," she span around, red hair flying all over. "You saw her snogging him, ergo you're involved in this."

She stormed into the bathroom and our roommates screamed.

Coco turned to me. "Who says ergo?"

I chuckled throatily and got sleep out of my eyes. Then a thought popped into my mind. "Oh, Merlin, what about James?"

"What about him?"

"His sister is getting it on with Zabini…shouldn't he know?"

"He should, but obviously Lily isn't ready to tell him," she mumbled sleepily. "I can understand why, he's going to kick shit."

"I can't hide it from him."

"Why? Hide it for a little while and talk to Lily. If she doesn't tell him soon say you'll have to tell him."

"I can't do that to Lily."

"Then you're in a situation, aren't you?" she smirked, fluttering her eyes open.

"Bloody hell."

I brushed my face with my hands and stood. I got ready in silence, concentrating on staying awake. Once in our uniforms we headed for breakfast. Lily wasn't there but James was sat at the end of the table with his friends. I contemplated going to the kitchens for breakfast but I couldn't be bothered, so I faced the music and sat down with them.

"Morning," James chirped.

"Urgh."

"You're cheery this morning," he said. "Have you gotten any sleep?"

"Some, not much. I got hungry during the night and went for food."

He shook his head. "I'm rubbing off on you."

"Hardly. I used to do it all the time with Rose and Albus when we couldn't sleep."

He grinned and a wave of guilt washed over me. I didn't want to lie to him about something as important as his sister. If he knew something about Coco, I would want him to tell me. I reckoned it was better he didn't know right now as Zabini had just walked into the Great Hall with some friends and it was too early for someone to be killed. Lily clearly wasn't ready to tell him, and if I hadn't been sneaking around and spying on her I wouldn't be stuck were I was. Really, it wasn't my place to tell. That didn't stop my guilty conscience, though.

Lily didn't turn up for breakfast and by the time we got out of Transfiguration for lunch she had already eaten and was off with friends on the grounds. Rose was buzzing after lessons and sprinted to the common room to find her cousin. Coco and I followed less enthusiastically, we were knackered from the night before and I wondered if Rose had had some kind of drug given to her. We followed her up the stairs and burst into the fourth year dorms. Lily flinched at the bang of the door and then smiled when she seen it was us.

"Hey guys, what are you doing—"

"You're snogging Blaise Zabini!" Rose yelled shrilly. It wasn't one of her most eloquent moments.

Lily froze and paled. "What? How do you know that?"

"It's true?" Rose screamed. "We saw you last night on the way back from the kitchens, Lily. What the hell were you doing sneaking around with him?"

Lily put her hands on her hips. "Why do you think, Rose? No one would approve of us and all of you lot would only judge. When we first got together…we decided not to tell anyone, it was better that way. We were going to tell people when it got more serious but we just haven't had the chance…"

"Serious? How long have you been dating him?"

Lily flushed and stuffed her school bag under her bed. "Since before Christmas," she finally murmured.

"Before Christmas?" Rose repeated incredulously. "Lily, why haven't you told us?"

"Because I knew if one of you knew, you'd all know. I can't risk James finding out. He'll kill Blaise. So with Albus, Freddie, Louis, even Hugo doesn't like him…we have so much against us. His family would hate me because I'm a Potter, my parents would be exactly happy with me, his friends will ridicule him, _my _friends would be angry," she sniffed. "I don't want to lie to anyone but I don't want to lose him either."

"Oh Lily," Rose breathed. "It might be hard at first but it'll be okay. Look at my dad with Scorpius, he hated the whole Malfoy clan and now he invites Scorpius to Quidditch games with him and Hugo. People will have to accept it, won't they? Anyone who doesn't isn't worth being friends with."

"I know that," Lily said. "It's not really about that…Blaise told me that if his parents found out they would disown him. Well, his dad would. We really want to tell people but we can't. I keep putting it off because I don't want him to lose his family and we break up later. He'd have nothing because of me."

"Does he want to tell people?"

"Yeah. He really does. He's sick of sneaking around…and he said I was worth the risk of losing his family. That might be okay with him but I couldn't live with the guilt."

"You have to tell people some time, Lily," I spoke up. "People will only get angrier the later they found out. Believe me, I know," I pointed to my stomach.

Her brown eyes watered. "What if they all hate me?"

"Who?"

Lily plopped onto the bed. "My family. Blaise is in Slytherin, he's on the Slytherin Quidditch team, he's basically the enemy in James and others' eyes. I don't want to hurt my family."

"They might be pissed at first but they'd accept it," Coco assured. "That's what family's do."

"And if they don't…well, I know you're bloody good at hexes," I snorted.

"I suppose," Lily sighed. "It's so confusing."

"Have a little more time," I advised softly. "But don't leave it too long, Lily. It'll come to a point when it's too long to forgive."

Rose lurched to hug Lily and then we left her with her thoughts. We changed into comfy clothing and hung out in the common room until tea. I finished before everyone else and headed back to get a start on an Astronomy essay. As I ended my first paragraph, Freddie walked through the portrait and fell onto the couch.

"Hey Callie," he greeted.

"Hey Freddie," I replied. "How's it going?"

"Alright," he answered lowly.

I fiddled with my quill and stared at him. He had his arm over his eyes and his huge form spread across the couch. I brushed the orange feathers across my cheeks and said, "How come you were so jealous when Carly was about to ask Boot out?"

His arm slipped from his eyes and he frowned at me. I worried that I had crossed a line and he was going to lash out, but he sat up and scoffed. "I wasn't jealous."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. I just think Boot is a bit of a dick."

"Aren't you friends? You were saying the other week that you were inviting him to the next Gryffindor party because he's a 'cool guy'."

"I don't remember saying that."

"Oh well, that's fine then."

I put my quill back to my essay. "She's going on a date with him you know," I lied. "Tony and Carly, they're going to Hogsmeade this weekend."

His face turned fierce. "I'll kill the twat." He jumped to his feet.

I shook my head and smirked. "But you're not at all jealous? I think your reaction says it all, Freddie."

Freddie stared at me for a long moment and then plopped onto his bum on the couch. "Okay, fine, I like her," he admitted. I raised my eyebrows and smiled successfully. I knew it. "I've liked her since the Christmas holidays but I don't think she likes me."

"You're stupid."

"Hey—"

"She's right, you are stupid," a soft voice said. Carly moved from the wall beside the portrait and beamed. "Did you mean that Freddie?"

Freddie got to his feet like he had been electrocuted. "No… yes. I'm sorry."

"Why?"

"I—don't know."

"You shouldn't be," Carly stepped forward. "I like you too, Freddie."

"Really?"

"Yes."

They smiled at each other until they stepped forward and kissed. Looking away, I gathered my things and went to the windowsill to give them some privacy. I smiled as I continued to write my essay, I was glad they had admitted their feelings. I considered them my friends now, spending three months around a person can do that, and it was good to see them together, happy. If only Rose and Scorpius could do the same.

"EW! EW! EW! Freddie and Carly are kissing!" someone yelled out. I turned to see Dom shielding her eyes and jumping up and down, while the others piled in behind her. Louis grabbed hold of a first year near the portrait hole and covered her eyes. She yelped but didn't attempt to stop him.

"Guys, innocent eyes being burned!" Louis called.

"Well that's just wrong," Derrick muttered, brushing past people to sit on the couch. His twin followed, shaking his head laughing.

"Callie—oh gross," Coco bounded into the common room and stopped to crinkle her nose at the snogging couple. She skipped over to me and smiled. "Mum sent a letter about seeing her in the Easter holidays, fancy it?"

"If you want."

"Maybe she could come to ours," she wondered. "Just for the day."

"I don't know you'd have to ask dad."

"Okay. I'll go and send them both a letter now." She ran out the portrait hole.

"Finally!" James whooped, walking in with Albus. "About time you two got together!"

Albus moaned and walked to the couches with his eyes covered. I joined everyone at the couches and sat with Albus to make him help me with my homework. Once done, I stuffed it into my bag and rested my head on his shoulder. Today had been hectic and teamed with my lack of sleep made me want to pass out for days.

"They look like they're eating each other's faces," Albus groaned. "They're going to be like that from now on, aren't they?"

"Afraid so mate," James sniggered. "Where did you go after lessons?" he questioned me.

I licked my lips awkwardly and shuffled. "I was hanging out with Rose and Coco."

"Oh. You haven't seen Lily have you? Dad sent us a letter this-morning but I can't find her to give it to her."

"Nope. Haven't seen her," I replied.

He shrugged. "I'll give it to her later," he started to get his homework out.

I cringed into Albus' shoulder at my lies, which surprised me. Lying wasn't a problem for me unless I cared about that person. I could never lie to my dad or Aunt Annie, or even Coco for that matter. Albus and Rose were always hard to lie to, but friends were easy. I'd lie to get out of parties and make fake excuses so I could have peace. Did I really care about James?

I didn't know. I considered him a friend, maybe even a good friend. But did I care for him like I cared for Albus and Rose? No, not entirely. I saw them as siblings figures, my best friends and I felt about them the way I felt about Coco, Bruce and Sage. James was different. I felt different about him…in a good or a bad way I didn't know. All I knew was that I was caring for him more each day and it was scary.

The question was, did he feel the same about me?

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**-Laylax**


	34. Sisters, almost kiss and everything goes

**Don't own anything except OC's.**

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**Chapter 34.**

Days passed quickly until it was the beginning of April and I was six months pregnant. My bump was bigger than ever, I got tired so easy it was ridiculous, the baby's kicks were harder than before, and my pregnancy cravings were getting more disgusting by the day. Last week, I ate pickled onions. One, I hate pickled things, two, I hate onions. Well, I _did_, now I crave them like nobody's business.

Work load at school had picked up to follow with exams in June. The teachers were kicking our arses, especially the seventh years who were about to do their N.E.W.T.S., Freddie and Carly were being disgustingly cute, calling each other by pet names and eskimo kissing at the dinner table. Most of us couldn't sit with them anymore and opted to be further down the table, not that they noticed, they were too engrossed with each other.

Lily hadn't told anyone about her and Zabini. She kept promising Rose she would tell people but never did. She was scared, I got that, however, it was getting harder to hide it from James. I felt awful for keeping it from him, especially when he mentioned his sister and how she'd been acting strange lately. I played it off as teenage girl problems and awkwardly tried to change the conversation to Quidditch or homework, the only things I could think of to distract him. I was almost desperate to tell him but held off for Lily.

One day while some of us were saw around the Gryffindor fire doing homework, I felt someone stand beside me. I looked up to see Lily staring at various members of her family with a determined air.

Oh uh.

"Guys, I need to tell you something," she stated strongly. Most looked up to give her their attentions while others kept working, assuming it wasn't going to be important. She cleared her throat and I opened my mouth to tell her it wasn't the best of times, she beat me to it. "I'm dating Blaise Zabini, have been since Christmas...I'm telling you now because I don't want to hide it anymore."

There was silence among us. Even the people around the common room not involved with us listened in.

"What?" Albus spluttered.

"You heard me," Lily replied.

"But… _why_?"

"Because I like him, Albus," she answered in a patronizing tone. "Why else?"

"No. No way," James shook his head and slammed his quill down. He raked his fingers through his hair. "What the hell are you thinking, Lily?"

"I'm thinking I like him…maybe even love him and I don't want to hide it anymore."

"_Love_ him? You're fifteen for Merlin's sake! How can you love him?"

"Age is a number, James," she snapped. "I know how I feel. I'm not ten anymore."

"But—but you can't!"

"Why?"

"He's the enemy! He's a _Slytherin_, he's on the Quidditch team…he doesn't like bacon!"

"What?"

"I don't know I ran out of things to say," James growled. "The point is I forbid you from seeing him!"

"You_ forbid_ me?"

"Yes."

Lily broke down into hysterical laughter. Tears ran down her cheeks from laughing so hard and her face turned bright red. "Oh, James, you can't do that as much as you like to think you can."

James glared. "I'll write to dad."

"I'll write to mum."

He gasped. "You wouldn't."

"Try me."

"I have to agree with James, Lily," Albus spoke up after getting over the shock. "Zabini isn't to be trusted."

"You don't even know him!"

"We know enough," Louis said. "And we don't like it."

Lily bloomed bright red and if she was a cartoon, smoke would have come from her ears. "Well you know what? You can all fuck off. I want to be with him, he wants to be with me, and there's nothing you can do to stop that. I don't care what you think."

"He's a _Slytherin_."

"It's fine, I was kidding myself thinking you'd try to accept this," she spat. "You're all arseholes, you know that? You're my family, you should love whoever I love!"

"Not when that person is Zabini!"

Lily glared full force at Albus. He flinched. "You inconsiderate plebs! I would never forbid you from dating someone I didn't like! Hell, I always supported you and Natalia, James, and I hated her!"

"But he's the enemy, Lily, Natalia's just a bit of a bitch."

Lily sniffed and threw a scowl at Louis. "Rose accepted it, why can't you lot? In fact, even Callie and Coco accepted it and they aren't even family!"

Oh no. Oh, no, no, no, no, no.

Albus and James turned to me with hurt expressions while Louis turned too looked to Coco who was trying to hide behind Ethan.

"You knew?" James questioned me.

"Well, yeah, kind of—"

"How long?" Albus asked.

"About two weeks," I answered. "I'm sorry, I said I would keep it a secret for her for a while."

"Why? She's _our_ sister!"

"I know, but Lily wasn't ready to tell you and I didn't want to upset her."

Guilt was drowning me. I had lied to them and I hated it. I was sorry that they were hurt, but by the way they were acting I wasn't sorry for keeping it from them. Lily was right, they didn't accept it. They hadn't even tried and she was their sister. I wasn't about to say this though because I was in enough shit already.

"Well that's just brilliant," Albus muttered. "My best friend knows who my baby sister is snogging before I do."

"I'm fifteen, hardly a baby."

Albus ignored this. "And you two," he turned to Rose and Coco. "Don't think I've forgotten about you two. I need a few minutes to have a panic attack before I shout at you all so rest for a bit."

I gave my attention back to James. He looked at me and then briskly exited the common room. I sighed and set my things on the coffee table. He was furious with me, of course he was. I would have been furious at him if he had hid something about Coco. In my pregnant state I couldn't run, so I walked around for an hour until I found him on some stairs in a hallway. Biting my lip, I walked down them until I was at the stair he was sat on.

"James," I said softly. "I'm sorry I've upset you."

He sighed. "You should have told me."

"I know," I mumbled, resting my head on my palms. "But you shouldn't have been such a git to Lily."

"What?" he scoffed.

"She's your sister, James," I responded. "She's young and this is her first boyfriend. You not supporting her must have really hurt."

"She's dating a Slytherin."

"Scorpius is a Slytherin," I said rather defensively. Given, most Slytherin's were a little…_off_ but some were nice. "He's a good guy and he hangs out with Zabini sometimes. He has to be okay to hang out with Scorpius, Scorp doesn't like boring people."

He clicked his knuckles angrily. "She's my little sister. I don't want her dating some guy that could hurt her."

"You don't know him, James," I reminded him. "He could be your best friend."

He shook his head. "Doubt it."

"Okay, that was too far," I snorted. "Give him a chance. Not for him but for your sister. She deserves for you to give him a chance."

"She hid it from me."

I groaned and slapped his arm. "Stop being such an idiot. She hid it from you because she knew you'd act like a prat, which you did by the way. Not only that but Lily needs your support. Some people aren't going to be happy with their relationship and she could use her family. Zabini's parents aren't exactly going to be planning the wedding, are they?"

"Urgh, wedding."

"Shut up, James. Are you going to be nicer to your sister?" I snapped.

"Yes," he whined. "I was an arse, okay? Are you happy now?"

"Yeah."

"When did you get so smart anyway?" he questioned.

I hit him again, harder this time and he yelped. "I know what it's like to have to support a siblings through something you don't want to," I admitted. "It's hard, I know. You do it because you love them and you want to help them."

He stared at me. "Your mum?"

"Yeah."

"Thought so."

I fiddled with the end of my jumper and gulped. When I turned back to James to tell him to get his arse back to the common room to apologize to Lily, he was already staring at me. Our eyes connected and I felt myself lean in. When I felt his breath on my face, my stomach dropped, memories of the night my bump was made coming back. The way his hands slid along my skin and how his lips had mine swollen for days.

Suddenly, someone laughed brightly. I jumped away from James and rose to my feet as Carly and Freddie started up the stairs. I waved uncomfortably at them and James stood, too. I stepped away from him, the close proximity too much.

"What are you doing here?" Carly asked.

I cleared my throat. "Talking," I answered quickly.

We all stared at each other and then James spoke, "So guess what?"

"What?"

"Lily's been snogging Blaise Zabini for four months."

"WHAT?"

After calming Freddie down we arrived back the common room. My head was spinning from James and I's almost kiss. What would have happened if Freddie and Carly hadn't interrupted? I didn't know if what I thought was good or bad. Did I want to kiss James? I didn't have the answer. However, there must have been something inside me that wanted to kiss him, after all I had leaned in.

A headache brewed in the front of my head as Rose went to get Lily from her dorm. I leaned against the wall as the redhead came down with a defiant glare and red, puffy eyes. The guys apologized and Lily accepted them with a nod, refusing to hug them and then leaving to go back to her dorm. I bit my lip at James and Albus' hurt faces. I was starting to hope this baby was a boy. James would never be able to handle a teenage girl.

This thought made me feel even worse. The fact that I was thinking that far into the future, and even that I was thinking about my future and my baby was in it made me feel nauseous. I was starting to think about my baby in my life without calculating the thought beforehand. I was taking the baby into my life and it made me feel a mix of strong and weak.

"Will you come and give this letter with me?" Coco asked. "It's for dad about the Easter holidays."

"Sure."

I walked with her to the Astronomy tower, ignoring James' gaze as we walked past him. She handed the letter to Lionel, who squawked and whined for about thirty seconds before flying off, and then we headed back.

It happened in a flash.

One second I was taking careful steps down the stone stairs and the next I tripped over my ankle and fell forward. Instinctively, I twisted myself onto my back to protect my bump. I heard Coco scream my name, I grasped my bump with my heads for extra protection and tensed. Then something smacked against my head and everything went black.

* * *

**Thoughts?**

**Thank you for the reviews, favourites and alerts! Next chapter is in James' POV so hope you're looking forward to that :)**

**-Laylax**


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